(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)
MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) - Russian inflation is so far expected to be around 8% in 2009, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said during a governmental hour at the State Duma.
"With liquidity deficit at its peak, we will then choose to reduce refinancing rates, most likely this will happen in the second half of or late 2009," he said.
"We estimate there will be a big decrease of inflation next year," Kudrin said. All prices are falling - on metal, concrete, cement, other things, petrol prices will also fall because oil prices dropped, he said. "Indeed, prices in the Russian economy will be falling next year, and the inflation will go down. In general, we expect to keep up with the planned inflation rate of around 8%. We will provide an additional analysis by December 1 together with the Economic Development Ministry," Kudrin said.
"We are living at the peak of global problems that are affecting us," he said. "We need to go through this [peak], become more resilient, and within twelve or eighteen months everything will be back to normal [interest] rates, which will be lower than before, because the inflation will be even lower," Kudrin said.
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