Russian Inflation Drops to 16-Month Low

The annual inflation rate in Russia fell for a fifth straight month to 8.1% from 8.8% in the previous month, the softest rate since April of 2024. The development was in line with the Bank of Russia's forecast that inflationary pressures were unlikely to remain at the elevated level from the first half of the year, but price growth still held well above the central bank's 4% target. Inflation slowed for services (11.1% vs 11.9% in July), food items (9.8% vs 10.8%), and non-food goods (3.9% vs 4.1%), In the meantime, core inflation eased to 8.0% from 8.5%. From the previous month, consumer prices fell by 0.4%, the first monthly drop in three years.