UPDATE 1-Russia ups 2008 inflation, GDP forecasts

(Adds quotes, table, additional figures, background)

MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) - Russia raised its official 2008
inflation forecast to 8.0-9.5 percent from the previous 7.5-8.5
percent, the Economy Ministry's chief macroeconomic planner,
Gennady Kuranov, told a news conference on Monday.

"This year we are forced to raise the annual inflation
forecast because of growth in prices for foodstuffs," Kuranov
said.

Russia missed its 2007 inflation target by a wide margin,
reversing a lower inflation trend seen in previous years and
urging the government to introduce anti-inflation measures such
as price controls, anti-monopoly regulation and export duties.

Nonetheless, in the first two months of this year, consumer
prices climbed 3.5 percent.

Kuranov said that the Ministry had also raised its 2008
economic growth forecast to 7.1 percent from 6.6 percent.

On March 28, the cabinet's budget commission will review
these forecasts, and once they are approved, they will be used
as a basis for budget calculations.

Kuranov said that capital inflows for 2008 were expected to
decrease to $30-40 billion from last year's record of $82.3
billion.

For this indicator, the Central Bank has given a less
conservative forecast of $40-50 billion.

Kuranov also said that over each of the next three years,
net capital inflows will be $50-70 billion.

He added that the Ministry had upped the average price
estimate for oil, Russia's main commodity, to $86 per barrel.

"A higher oil price means greater capital investment,"
Kuranov said.

But by 2011, Russia's imports are expected to catch up with
exports and create a negative trade balance, Kuranov said.

Below are the government's revised macroeconomic forecasts
for the next four years:

2008 2009 2010 2011
CPI (pct) 8.0-9.5 6.0-9.5 5.0-6.0 5.0-5.8
GDP (pct) 7.1 6.3 6.6 6.1
Industry output (pct) 5.2 5.5 5.5 5.1
Capital investment (pct) 14.4 11.4 12.4 9.6
Foreign trade (in $ bln)
Exports 441.8 426.5 432.7 444.1
Imports 298.4 354.7 407.2 448.3
Average oil price ($) 86 75 72 70
Oil export (in mln T) 256 259 261 262
Gas export (in bcm) 202.8 201.1 218.7 227.2
Oil product exports
(in mln T) 114.0 115.4 117.6 117.8
Oil output (in mln T) 500 507 514 518
Gas output (in bcm) 677 700 711 724
Average rouble/$ rate 24.0 24.9 26.3 28.0
Year-end rouble/$ rate 24.0 25.6 27.0 29.0
Rouble REER (pct) 3.3 1.6 0.0 -1.6
Foreign investment ($ bln) 55 56 60 65
(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski and Daria Korsunskaya, Writing by
Simon Shuster; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)