Russian households' inflation expectations, an important gauge for monetary policy, fell to 13.1% in February from 13.7% in January, central bank data showed on Thursday, with analysts saying the drop increases room for future rate cuts. The indicator, which measures how households expect pricesto change over the next year, had been rising since October after the government decided to raise value-added tax (VAT) to 22% from 20%, a move that typically feeds into prices.