The forecast offered by Russia’s Central Bank regarding the 2020 inflation rate in the country has been criticized by economist Mikhail Delyagin, Director of Institute for Globalization Issues.
According to the Central Bank, by the yearend the inflation will be between 3.9% and 4.2%, whereas Mikhail Delyagin is far less optimistic and says the authors of the report certainly have not been shopping or ordering goods delivery this year.
In view of the expert, it is hard to assess the overall inflation at the moment since due to the pandemic spending on holidays, travel, entertainment, restaurants has dropped dramatically in the country, while spending on goods delivery and online shopping has substantially gone up. Medicines have become much more expensive too. Therefore, major adjustments to assessment methods are required.
Yet 2020 inflation in Russia, Delyagin believes, may by no means be below 7%. The official inflation figure is therefore simply the result of dividing the real figure by two. Hence the forecast of the national regulator is “more about hallucinations than reality”, the economist thinks.