No spectre of inflation yet for Russia as spending stays down despite wages going up

Moscow

THERE'S less than meets the eye to Russia's consumer recovery.

While real wages grew at the same pace of 3.7 per cent in April and May, the most in over three years, retail sales only crawled just above zero after a record 27 months of contraction. The Bank of Russia expects consumers to stay similarly cautious for another two to three years.

This explains why the central bank believes risks to inflation have declined in the short term.

Even as governor Elvira Nabiullina said that a rebound in consumption is becoming "more pronounced", policymakers last week delivere…