Inflation in Russia will fall to around 8 percent in 2009 due to declining prices, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin forecast Wednesday.
"Indeed, prices in the Russian economy will be falling next year, and inflation will go down," Kudrin, who is also deputy prime minister, told the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
"In general, we expect it to keep up with the planned inflation rate of around 8 percent," he was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
The Russian government could spend about 500 billion rubles (18billion U.S. dollars) from the Reserve Fund in 2009 to make up for falling oil prices and other budget revenues amid the global financial crisis, Kudrin added.
However, the World Bank said in a report published Tuesday that Russia's inflation would be at least 12 percent in 2009 compared with the government's forecast of 7.5-8.5 percent.
The Russian government failed to keep inflation within its target of 8 percent last year, with the final figure standing at 11.9 percent, driven by high food and commodity prices.
Source: Xinhua
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