Inflation in Russia is likely to fall for a third month to its lowest level since the start of the Ukraine war, after consumer prices fell for consecutive weeks due to the ruble’s strength and a seasonal decline in fruit and vegetable prices. Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

International sanctions, initially intended to cripple the Russian economy, caused a brief shock to the currency and disrupted supply, and the post-sanctions frenzy drove inflation to four times the central bank’s 4% target.

But annual price growth peaked two months after the war began in February, and the median forecast for inflation in a Bloomberg survey of 16 analysts may have eased to 3.15% in July.

Another survey showed that on a monthly basis, inflation remained slightly below zero for the second month in a row.