MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry sees no reason for inflation to accelerate in the short term, Deputy Minister Polina Kryuchkova said in an interview with TASS.

"Overall, we see no grounds for inflation acceleration as of now. It is more important to make sure that inflation stays above 4% as this will demonstrate a structural transformation of the economy, elevated demand, and people's economic activity," she said.

The ministry is developing various stress scenarios of influence on the economic situation and the inflation level, Kryuchkova said, adding that the key factor, above all, is the balance of supply and demand.

"But if we talk about basic trends, we see no substantial inflation risks now. Then there is the issue of the influence of various factors on inflation," she said. "To keep inflation at bay, supply is essential as it brings demand into balance. And these are the very projects related to import substitution and saturation of the domestic market," the official explained.

Earlier, Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said that inflation in Russia was lower than projected at 11.9% in 2022. Meanwhile, the minister projected annual inflation below the 4% target in Q2 2023. According to the ministry’s official forecast, inflation in Russia will be 5.5% in 2023.

According to a survey of analysts conducted by the Central Bank in February, the median inflation forecast for 2023 went up by 0.2 percentage points to 6%. Experts still expect inflation to return to a level around 4% in 2024 and remain on target thereafter.