According to Odaily, the latest weekly data released by Russia's Federal State Statistics Service on Wednesday indicates that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.33% for the week ending December 23, bringing the annual inflation rate to 9.5%. This data comes after the Russian Central Bank's unexpected decision last week to keep the key interest rate steady at 21%. The regulatory body stated that recent tightening measures have created favorable conditions to reduce the inflation rate to the target of 4%. Andrei Gangan, head of the Central Bank's monetary policy department, projected that Russia's annual inflation rate will range between 9.6% and 9.8%.