Inflation in Russia will exceed the target of 4% in 2019, but drop again below that level in 2020, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin said.
"Next year the VAT hike will push inflation slightly up above the 4% level, though it bears no serious risks for the general inflation situation, while in 2020 (inflation) will again drop below 4%," the minister said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel..
According to the Finance Ministry’s calculations, inflation in Russia will equal 4.3% in 2019, while the VAT increase from 18% to 20% will add 1.3% to the indicator.
Oreshkin said that Russia’s economic growth may slow down to 1.4-1.5% in 2019 compared with 2018.
"We expect the next year to be a transition year with growth rates slightly lower than this year. In 2017, (GDP) growth was around 2%, and we expect 1.9% (growth) this year, and around 1.4-1.5% (growth) next year," TASS cited him as saying.
