“The jump in inflation was brought about by strong pro-inflationary factors, first of all by the considerable weakening of the exchange rate of the ruble…This factor is limited by time and its force will gradually settle,” Nabiullina said during an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Nabiullina said inflation would peak in the second quarter of the current year.
“Inflation may be a bit higher than the current level (January) and after the second quarter, inflation will begin to decline,” she added.
In January, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that the ministry expects inflation to stand at 12 percent in 2015.
Russia, a country heavily reliant on energy exports, is currently experiencing economic problems due to weakening of the ruble and low oil prices. The ruble lost over half of its value against the dollar since summer, while during this time the price of a barrel of Brent crude has plummeted from $110 to about $58.
