Price rise in January set new record

According to finanz.ru, citing data from Rosstat and the Ministry of Economic Development, food inflation in January this year accelerated to 10.78%. The indicator was higher only in November (10.91%). This is an absolute record since 2016.

The most noticeable rise in prices in January for the main vegetables from the so-called "borsch set". The rise in prices for them reached 2-9%.

Over the year, onion prices increased by 15.3%, carrots - by 33.89%, potatoes - by 55.81%, and cabbage - one and a half times: by 153.89%.

Buckwheat went up in price by 27.5%, flour - by 14.29%. Bread and rice added 10.68% and 10.05%, respectively. Double-digit inflation rates are also observed for the prices of butter (+ 13.24%) and sugar (+ 14.05%), as well as for noodles (+ 14.97%), milk (+ 10.91%) and eggs ( + 15.8%).

Along with producers and sellers of products, the authorities took part in accelerating inflation by authorizing an increase in prices for public and railway transport. The average growth was from 4.3 to 8.5%. Cars rose in price by 22.3%, gasoline rose in price by 9%. All of this suggests that officials' hopes for a slowdown in inflation in 2022 are likely to fail. Thus, citizens should prepare for a further reduction in their incomes and a general decline in living standards, which has been observed in the country since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Experts believe that in conditions of aggravation of the situation, the key rate of the Central Bank may rise to double-digit indicators in February. And this will inevitably affect the cost of loans. As a consequence, this situation will lead to a further rise in the price of housing, goods and services, since the use of borrowed money for producers will become more expensive. A decrease in food prices is also not worth expecting, since the gas crisis in the EU strongly affects the food market.

It should be noted that a new round of inflation can also be provoked by geopolitical risks - aggravation of confrontation with the EU and the United States, as well as recent events in Kazakhstan.