Russia’s Central Bank slashed its key interest rate to 15.5% at its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Friday, continuing a streak of cuts that saw five reductions last year.
Policymakers said in a statement announcing the rate decrease that the economy “continues to return to a balanced growth path” despite what they described as a considerable but temporary rise in the cost of goods in January after the government increased the value-added tax and expanded the number of small businesses required to pay the consumption tax.
While the Central Bank said it expects to reduce borrowing costs further this year, it wants to see evidence that inflation is moving closer to its target of 4%. According to the bank, inflation stood 6.3% as of Feb. 9, still down significantly from a year ago.
This is a breaking news story.
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