Inflation and Monetary Policy in March 2014

In March 2014, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) amounted to 1% (vs. 0.3% in March 2013), which represents a 0.3 p.p. rise on February 2014. As a result, the inflation rate in per annum terms, as seen by the results of the past 12 months, rose to about 6.9%. Over the period from 1 April through 21 April, the CPI climbed to 0.3%. On 3 March 2014, the Bank of Russia temporarily increased the key rate from 5.5% to 7% per annum. On 25 April 2014, Russia's financial regulator again increased the key rate, to 7.5% per annum, thus continuing the toughening of monetary policy