Russian Inflation Accelerates to Nine-Month High on Ruble

Russian March inflation was the fastest in nine months, driven by the ruble’s weakening amid the country’s worst standoff against the U.S. and the European Union since the end of the Cold War.

Consumer prices rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier after 6.2 percent advance in February, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said today in an e-mailed statement. The median estimate of 18 economists in a Bloomberg survey was 6.8 percent. Prices rose 1 percent on the month, compared with a median forecast of 0.9 percent.