Annual inflation accelerates in most Russian regions in August

Inflation trends in August were under strong pressure from mounting demand, enabling producers to pass higher costs on to prices.

Annual paces of non-food inflation continued to rise as demand remained high for many product categories. Prices for construction materials, whose growth had been markedly strong in prior months, rose at a much more moderate pace.
Food prices also grew at an accelerated pace. This came to a large extent on the back of growing prices for meat products, as consumer prices came under pressure from rising input costs (prices for feed components, veterinary drugs, packaging materials) and local epizootics.

The annual rates of growth in prices for services diverged. They were strongly influenced by base effects in airfare trends given that last year airlines had to align their regional price strategies with an uneven rebound in demand.

All federal districts reported an acceleration in inflation except for the Urals Federal District, where prices for food and services grew slower. August’s inflation acceleration was strongest in the North Caucasian regions, chiefly due to non-food prices.

For details on inflation in Russian regions, see the information and analytical materials on the Bank of Russia website.