Central Bank of Russia Keeps Key Interest Rate Unchanged at 4.25%

On Friday, Russia’s central bank kept the key interest rate at 4.25%, in line with expectations after the ruble weakened before the US presidential election, but said a rate cut was still possible in the coming months.

“If the situation develops in line with the basic expectation, the Bank of Russia will consider the necessity of another cut to the main interest rate in future meetings,” the central bank said, in a repeat of what it said after previous meetings to set interest rates in September.

The central bank said it had revised its forecast for the economy to shrink in 2020 to between 4% and 5% percent from 4.5% to 5.5% and said it now expects the economy to grow between 3-4% in 2021.

Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the growth of the Russian economy is still fragile due to the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic and that the economy has not yet reached sustainable growth in the long term, adding that there is a recovery in some sectors, especially industry.