Central banker sees room for further key interest rate reduction

MOSCOW, Oct 4 (PRIME) -- The central bank may reduce its key interest rate further, First Deputy Chairwoman Ksenia Yudayeva told the Federation Council, Russian parliament’s upper house, on Friday.

“The interest rate has entered a neutral zone, we will consider various effects each time, but there is certain space for further reduction,” she said.

In September, the regulator cut the key rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7% annually after cutting it by the same amount in June and July.

Yudayeva also said Russia’s mortgage market will expand by around 21% in 2019, and grow at around 20% annually in the future, but it is important that the new homes market grow at a similar rate. Prices for new homes have increased 7% since the beginning of 2019, and the situation must be closely watched.

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