Russia’s monetary policy should remain geared towards achieving inflation objectives

Russia’s growth has slowed while inflation remains high. Economic activity has been constrained by weak investment and external demand. At the same time, the economy remains at full capacity, with unemployment at historic lows and capacity utilization at pre-crisis highs. We project growth at 2½ percent in 2013 and 3¼ percent in 2014. Headline inflation is projected to decline slightly to the upper end of the CBR target range for end 2013 of 5 to 6 percent and, without policy action, to remain above the target range of 4 to 5 percent in 2014.