Banking & Finance Weekly Report.(Statistical Data Included)
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Consumer price inflation in Russia was 1.7% in May, compared to 1.2% in April, 1.1% in March, 1.2% in February and 3.1% in January, the State Statistics Committee reported on Wednesday. Inflation was 8.4% in the first five months of 2002, down from 10.9% in the same period last year. Average daily inflation in May was 0.054%, up from 0.038% in April, but down from 0.057% in May 2001. Inflation accelerated in May due to a seasonal increase in prices for fruit and vegetables, the statistics committee said. Food prices jumped 2.2% overall in May, but rose only 0.4% if fruit and vegetables are factored, compared to respectively 1.0% and 0.2% in April. Prices in May went up 1.2% for nonfood goods and 1.0% for services, compared to respectively 0.8% and 2.4% in April. In the first five months of 2002, prices rose 7.5% for foodstuffs, including 2.8% if fruit and vegetables are not included, compared to respectively 11.9% and 8.4% in the same period last year. Prices increased 4.7% for nonfood goods and 18.4% for services, compared to increases of 5.8% and 18.4% in the first five months of 2001. FINANCIAL POLICY RUSSIAN FEDERAL BUDGET SURPLUS AT 108 BLN RUBLES IN Q1 Russia had a federal budget surplus (revenue in excess of spending) of 108.0 billion rubles in the first quarter of 2002, up from 49.2 billion rubles in the same period last year, the State Statistics Committee, citing figures from the Finance Ministry, reported. Federal budget revenues totaled 472.4 billion rubles in the quarter, including 351.5 billion rubles in taxes, up from respectively 318.0 billion and 297.0 billion rubles in the same period of 2001. Spending (including financial aid to budgets at other levels of government) totaled 364.4 billion rubles, up from 268.8 billion rubles. Revenues in the quarter included 153.8 billion rubles in value- added tax, 71.6 billion rubles in taxes on foreign trade and foreign economic operations, 34.9 billion rubles in profit tax and 55.7 billion rubles in excises. Non-tax revenue totaled 26.9 billion rubles, and the revenues of special budgetary funds amounted to 3.8 billion rubles. Unified social tax revenues amounted to 90.2 billion rubles. Spending totaled 43.9 billion rubles on national defense, 107.5 billion rubles on social and cultural programs, 77.9 billion rubles on debt servicing, 67.3 billion rubles on financial aid to budgets at other levels of government, 22.9 billion rubles on law enforcement and security, 6.7 billion rubles on state and local administration, 4.2 billion rubles on industry, the power sector and construction, 4.1 billion rubles on roads, and 2.1 billion rubles for special budgetary funds. Interest spending (on servicing the state debt) in the quarter decreased to 21.4% of all federal expenditures from 32.9% in January-March 2001. The government used 60.7 billion rubles of the surplus in the quarter to pay off domestic debts and 47.3 billion rubles to pay off foreign debts. |