MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti, Maria Balynina) - Next year's inflation in Russia is likely to exceed the target fixed in the federal draft budget, a member of parliament's upper house said Monday.
Sergei Ivanov, deputy chair of the Federation Council commission on Audit Chamber relations, quoted the country's top comptroller as saying there was a strong possibility that inflation would rise above the target rate of 8.5% in 2006.
Ivanov said that sustained mid-term lowering of the inflation rate would not be possible without promoting competition on Russia's heavily monopolized housing and utilities market.
