Gref predicted a 1 percentage point increase in the Central Bank rate before the New Year another 1 percentage point, up 8.5 percent. Sberbank CEO German Gref predicted such a development in an interview with Russia 24 TV channel, RIA Novosti reports.
According to him, the current rate of 7.5 percent is still too low amid inflation. At the end of November, the rise in prices, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, reached 8.38 percent in annual terms, although a week earlier it was 8.05 percent.
Gref stressed that he could not speak with confidence about the exact value of the increase, but believes that, firstly, it will be, and secondly, it will be no less significant than the previous one.
The head of Sberbank also noted that the next increase may be the last, and by the end of 2022 the rate will gradually will begin to decline. This will be caused by the situation with inflation, which, according to Gref, will remain tense until the end of the first half of next year, after which there will be an improvement.
Earlier, the investment strategist of Arikapital Management Company Sergei Suverov suggested that the rise in prices in Russia will continue, and the Central Bank of Russia will not be able to influence it. According to the expert, the reason for inflation is the soft monetary policy of the world's leading central banks and the country's serious dependence on imports of foreign goods. At the same time, we are talking not only about non-food imports, the share of which in stores reaches 75 percent, but also simple goods such as potatoes.