MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov has announced a decline in inflation in the country following a spike in early January, which he attributed to the VAT increase and the postponement of increases in fruit and vegetable prices from December. The minister also noted a trend toward further slowdown in the near future.

"Inflation slowed down at the end of last year thanks to the joint efforts of the Central Bank and the government. Of course, thanks to the Central Bank's tight monetary policy," he said at a meeting of the State Duma economic policy committee.

The latest figures for annual inflation equal 6.4%, Reshetnikov added. "And there has been some decline (in the last week - TASS). Since the beginning of the year, there has been a certain spike related to VAT and the carryover of food inflation partly into January as fruits and vegetables became cheaper in December, while in January there was a slight rebound. Further on, we understand that it will slow down and normalize, and move toward the target range (of 4% - TASS). We see this from all the trends," he stressed.