Cbank cuts Russia’s ’15 current account, trade surplus forecasts

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (PRIME) -- The central bank has trimmed its forecasts for Russia’s 2015 current account and trade surpluses to U.S. $65 billion from $73 billion and to $150 billion from $156 billion, respectively, as seen by PRIME late on Tuesday in final edition of the regulator’s main directions of monetary policy approved by its board of directors.

But the authority increased the estimate of exports for the year to $346 billion from $344 billion and of imports to $197 billion from $187 billion.

The central bank also sees Russia’s annual inflation slowing down to about 8% already in January–March 2016. In the year it may fall to 5.5–6.5% thanks to a stable ruble and inflation expectations and a modest consumer activity on the back of moderate wage growth and households’ tendency to save money in poor financial conditions.

The regulator will keep its moderately tough monetary policy until inflation falls to low levels and stays there, and the bank will decrease its key rate in line with improvement of inflation expectations. This is necessary to ensure price stability and support financial stability.

Softer financial conditions will create prerequisites for a growing volumes of credit in 2017–2018, the authority added.

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