Rigid monetary policy will be needed in 2024, and may need to be strengthened - Deputy CBR Chairman

MOSCOW. Oct 10 (Interfax) - To return inflation to target, the Bank of Russia will have to maintain the rigidity of its monetary policy next year, and it may have to be strengthened, Central Bank Deputy Chairman Alexei Zabotkin said.

Speaking during a meeting of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, he said that based on weekly data as of October 2, inflation in Russia in annual terms has increased to 5.9%.

"We believe that inflation risks now prevail. The significant tightening of monetary policy that has already been undertaken, raising the rate to 13%, is designed to stop the risk that the price growth flywheel will continue to spin," Zabotkin said.

"To return inflation to the target of 4% in 2024, in our opinion, it will be necessary to maintain monetary policy stringency over the next year, and we do not rule out that additional stringency may be required in addition to those decisions already made," the Central Bank's monetary policy curator said.