ACRA: Russian central bank may cut key rate by 0.25 pp late April

MOSCOW, Apr 12 (PRIME) -- Russia’s central bank may lower the key rate by 0.25 percentage points in late April from the current 11%, Yekaterina Trofimova, Head of the Analytical Credit Ratings Agency (ACRA), told reporters on Tuesday.

The regulator said at the last meeting on March 18 that the rate may be cut. The next meeting of the central bank’s board of directors is scheduled for April 29.

“There are preconditions that the key rate will be cut in the coming 6-12 months by 1–1.5 percentage points, but we understand that the key rate is likely to be decreased gradually and the financial and macroeconomic situation on markets has not stabilized yet,” she said, adding that “25 basis points would be acceptable, admissible.”

“I believe that a very moderate decrease is quite acceptable, in particular in order to give a signal to the market that the situation is stabilizing gradually, but we must understand that nonetheless, it will have no significant influence on interest rates on the market, particularly because borrowings of the central bank and the Finance Ministry are falling little by little and their role in dynamics of liquidity is falling.”

Earlier in April, Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said that the regulator believes that credit availability for enterprises is low, which may precondition a lower rate, but not to the prejudice of inflation.

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