Russia’s inflation rate accelerated slightly in the week from February 20 to 26, inching up to 7.58% from 7.57% the previous week, according to the Ministry of Economic Development’s latest data. (chart) The increase was despite several large rate hikes by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) that culminated in December and brought the prime rate to 16%. Russia’s economy is overheating thanks to war spending and the CBR is struggling to contain inflation, which remains Russia’s main economic headache. During the week, consumer market inflation stood at 0.13% year-on-year, with a notable distinctio…