Consumer inflation in Russia slowed to 17.10% in year-on-year terms in May from 17.83% in April, which was its highest level since January 2002, data showed on Wednesday, days before the central bank's rate-setting meeting.
The central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 10% on Friday as it tries to make lending more affordable amid sluggish consumer demand and a pause in inflation, a Reuters poll suggested. read more
Monthly inflation slowed to 0.12% from 1.56% in April, data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed.
In annual terms, inflation slowed to 17.02% in the latest week from 17.35% a week earlier, the economy ministry said.
In March, monthly inflation jumped to 7.61%, its biggest month-on-month increase since January 1999.
