Russian Inflation at Fastest Since 2002 After Ruble Crisis

Russian inflation accelerated in February to the fastest pace since 2002 on an annual basis while slowing weekly readings pave the way for the central bank to cut interest rates further.

Consumer prices rose 16.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with 15 percent in January, and gained 2.2 percent in the month, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said in a statement. That matched median estimates in two separate Bloomberg surveys. Prices rose 0.2 percent in the seven days through March 2, the smallest weekly increase since mid-November.