Central Bank of Russia reaffirms commitment to achieve 4% inflation target
ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia intends to achieve its inflation target of 4%, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025).
"We have pursued and will continue to pursue inflation reduction towards our target," Nabiullina said.
Low inflation is important for both households and businesses, she said. "Reducing inflation is important for people because high inflation erodes incomes and savings, while low inflation forms the basis for growth in real household incomes. It's also important for businesses because we want growth to be not just high in certain years, but sustainable," she said.
The Central Bank's inflation forecast is based on calculations, she said. "Of course, it's a calculation - a calculation backed by our determination to achieve the inflation target. Some might call this the Central Bank's stubbornness, or mine. Persistence would be a more accurate term," she said in response to a question from Andrei Makarov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, about whether the Central Bank's inflation forecast was a guess, hope, or calculation.
"Though intuition probably shouldn't be dismissed either," she said.
It is important to believe in achieving the 4% inflation target, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. "The main thing is belief. If we believe in 4%, it will definitely happen," he said.
Nabiullina agreed with Siluanov that inflation expectations play a significant role.
"The Central Bank's persistence, reinforced by fiscal measures" is also crucial, Siluanov said.
The Central Bank predicts that inflation will return to its target 4% in 2026 and will then stay on that level.
Nabiullina said that the Central Bank's KPI was still the achievement of the 4% inflation target and that this would not change in future. "I am not making changes [to the KPI]. Even if a target is difficult to reach, that does not mean it should be changed. Low inflation is a sturdy basis for a supply-side economy," she said.
