Russian annual inflation for 2015 on consumer prices was set at 12.9 percent, according to Rosstat’s final statistics for the year.
According to earlier predictions by the Russian Economic Development Ministry, inflation was set at 12.5 percent. At the end of December, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said the inflation rate for 2015 would be approximately 13 percent.
Russia saw an economic downturn in 2014 after the United States and the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Moscow over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. The ruble lost about half its value against the dollar.
In late November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Russia’s economic outlook had been improving, with the country’s economy heading toward stabilization. The IMF predicted Russia’s inflation rate to continue to fall further during 2016.
Last month, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the inflation in the country would slow down to 6-7 percent in 2016.