Russian Central Bank raises interest rate by about 200 bps to ‎‎15%‎

Russian Central Bank raised the key interest rate by two percentage points to 15% annually on Friday.

The bank said in a statement, “The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia decided to increase the key interest rate by two points, to 15.00% annually, and the current inflation pressure has increased significantly beyond the expectations of the Bank of Russia.”

The statement added, “The steady increase in domestic demand increasingly exceeds the possibilities of expanding the production of goods and services, and according to the Central Bank, inflation expectations are still at high levels,” according to TASS.

The bank pointed out that further decisions will be made regarding the key interest rate, taking into account the actual and expected inflation dynamics in view of the economic development goals in the expected term, in addition to assessing the risks resulting from internal and external conditions and reactions in the financial markets.

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