(MENAFN) Russia's inflation reached 16.7 percent in February as lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine drove the biggest jump in prices over one year since 2002, AFP reported.
Prices surged a further 2.2 percent last month after soaring 3.9 percent in January, hitting a 16-year record as the economy remained weak after the ruble at 2014-end lost half of its value against the dollar.
The biggest rise was in food prices, which went up 23.3 percent compared to the past year and 3.3 percent in February alone. This resulted from Moscow's ban on EU and US food imports.
The country's inflation was predicted at 11.4 percent last year, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis and following an inflation of 6.5 percent registered in 2013.
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