Russian Inflation at Fastest Since 2008 After Currency Rout

Russian inflation topped forecasts by economists, accelerating to the fastest pace in almost seven years as the country’s worst currency crisis since 1998 ignited price growth.

Consumer prices rose 15 percent in January from a year earlier, compared with 11.4 percent in December, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said today in an e-mailed statement. That exceeded the median estimate of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey for 13.5 percent. Prices jumped 3.9 percent from the previous month.