Russia Gets Its Wish at Last as Inflation Set for Record Low

After sticking with an unprecedented pledge to hold interest rates last quarter, policy makers are on track to meet their price-growth forecast for the first time since 2011 by pushing inflation to the lowest year-end level in modern Russian history. While economists have brought their forecasts closer to the central bank’s 4 percent goal for this year, they still project it above target, and household expectations remain high.

The annual price index fell more than estimated by economists to 5.4 percent in December from 5.8 percent a month earlier, the Federal Statistics Service said on Friday. That’s less than half the level seen at 2015 and matches the lower end of the central bank’s forecast for 2016.