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Inflation to decline below 5% by end-2021, says Russian President

Currently, it equals 5.8%

ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Russian President hopes inflation will decline below 5% by the end of 2021.

"Second is inflation. It currently equals 5.8 [percent]," he said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, adding that "it would be good if inflation in 2021 equaled around 5 [percent], maybe slightly lower."

The Bank of Russia kept the key rate at a fairly low level for the country’s economy for a long period, the president said, noting that "it is forced to respond to what is happening in the economy overall, particularly by tightening liquidity."

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said at the SPIEF earlier than the government projects inflation in Russia at 4.5-5% by the end of 2021, which is higher than expected in April (4-4.5%).

The Central Bank expects inflation to reach 4.7-5.2% in Russia this year and return to the 4% target in the middle of 2022.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation, is taking place on June 2-5. The topic of this year’s forum is "Together Again - Economy of New Reality". TASS is the information partner and the official photo hosting agency of SPIEF.

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