Russian inflation overshoots target

The Russian government has admitted that its annual inflation target of 14% will not be met.

The Economic Development and Trade Minister, German Gref, said inflation would reach between sixteen and and 18% by the end of the year.

The government's original annual inflation forecast was 12%, which was later revised upwards.

The International Monetary Fund recently warned that although Russia's economy had stabilised, high inflation remained a problem. Mr Graf also said the Russian economy could experience higher than expected growth this year, of up to 5%.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service