The Bank Rossii (Russia’s central bank) unexpectedly lowered its main interest rate today on the concerns that the inflation decelerates. The Russian ruble is still up against the US dollar despite the news.
The Russian central bank lowered its key refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 8.00 percent, effective from December 26. Such move surprised most economists. The Bank of Russia explained in its statement:
The said decision was made considering the assessment of inflation risks and risks to the sustainability of economic growth, including those associated with the global economic uncertainty.
The growth of the Russian consumer prices slowed from 6.8 percent in November to 6.4 percent in December.
USD/RUB fell from 31.3965 to 31.1622 today as of 9:29 GMT, while the intraday minimum was 31.0480.
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