Russian business price expectations little changed in April - Central Bank survey

MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) - Russian business price expectations are little changed in April compared with March and remain below their average levels for 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, the Central Bank said in a commentary following a survey of enterprises.

The indicator, derived from a regular survey of enterprises in key sectors, decreased by just 0.1 percentage points.

The CBR said that price expectations had varying dynamics across different industries. Most industries increased price expectations, but they decreased in mining, electricity, retail trade and the service sector. Companies in the electricity sector anticipate the smallest growth in prices, while companies engaged in vehicle trading expect the biggest growth. Agricultural companies predict that prices will decrease, though by a smaller margin than what they predicted in April-June 2023.

The rise in overheads accelerated somewhat from March to April, across the economy overall as well as in the majority of industries. Companies in the transportation and storage, electricity, trade and service sectors saw the increase in overheads slow down. According to the survey, significant factors driving up expenditure were, as before, the increased cost of fuel and lubricants, raw materials, utilities, logistics and rent, as well as the increased tax burden.

The increase in factory gate prices for products and services accelerated once again in April, the CBR said. As before, the trends were inconsistent across industries.

The CBR's business climate indicator returned to the positive zone in April, nearing the levels of December 2025 and increasing to 2.2 points from negative 0.1 points in March thanks to an improvement in current estimates and expectations for production and demand. Companies from the mining, trade and service sectors contributed most to the increase.