The Bank of Russia has cut its key interest rate to 14.25% from 14.5% – less than analysts had expected – against a backdrop of economic difficulties linked to rising spending on the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions and a fuel crisis triggered by Ukrainian drone strikes.
At a Friday press conference, Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina, who appeared in public for the first time since early June and explained her absence by illness, made it clear that monetary policy was unlikely to be eased any time soon.
