Russian inflation slows to 0.4% in April, rises to 9.6% annually - Rosstat
MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - Inflation in Russia slowed to 0.4% in April from 0.6% in March, 0.8% in February and 2.4% in January, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said.
Inflation was 4.3% in January-April 2011, compared with 3.5% in the same period of last year. Consumer prices rose 0.3% in April 2010.
Inflation in April this year was less than the 0.5% that analysts predicted in a consensus forecast for Interfax.
But it accelerated to 9.6% in annual terms, from 9.5% in March and February, and was back to the level seen in January. Annual inflation was only 6% at the end of April last year.
Annual inflation hit a post-Soviet low of 5.5% in July 2010, but rose consistently until January due to price growth for food in the wake of the summer drought and harvest failure.
The core or underlying inflationary index was high at 100.5% in April and 103% in January April 2011, compared with 101.7% and 104.8%, respectively, in 2010, but monetary factors are also a source of inflationary pressure, which promoted the Central Bank to put its refinancing rate up a quarter of a percent to 8.25% effective May 3.
Food prices went up 0.4% in April (0.9% in March), non-food prices rose 0.5% (0.5%) and services - 0.5% (0.7%).
Fruit and vegetables averaged down 1.5% in April, following growth of 1.4% in March, 2.7% in February, 11.2% in January and 8.6% in December. Bananas fell 9.9%, and pears, lemons, grapes and potatoes fell 3%-4.9%, but beetroot rose 13.4% and cabbage went up 2.1% in price.
April saw further marked growth in prices for millet and buckwheat - 7.2% and 5.8%, respectively, with 33.8% growth for millet in North Ossetia-Alania.
Eggs rose 6.2% in their traditional April price jump.
Gasoline prices, which fell 0.8% in March and 1.5% in February, rose 0.9% as of April 25, but most of the month's growth occurred after that date and will be included in the May inflation figures.
The consumer basket of staple foods averaged down 0.2% in April to 2,840.4 rubles per person per month, but went up 8.2% in January-April.
Housing and utility prices grew 0.4% in April, following increases of 0.2% in March, 1% in February and 9.1% in January. They went up 10.7% in January-April, with growth of 15% for cold water mains supply and waste-water disposal, 13.2% for gas and 12.5% for hot water.
April saw increases of 2.8%-3.2% for long-distance rail and economy class plane fares.
The Russian Economic Development Ministry expects April inflation of 6.5%-7.5%, but the Central Bank still aims to limit price growth to 7%.
The analysts said in the consensus forecast at the end of April that they thought consumer prices would go up 8.6% this year.
