Sberbank says cbank may cut key rate to 5.5% on Apr 24

MOSCOW, Apr 17 (PRIME) -- Top lender Sberbank expects that Russia’s central bank will reduce the key rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5% at a meeting on April 24, Nikolai Minko, the bank’s strategist for currency markets and interest rates, told reporters on Friday.

“We assume that the central bank will reduce the key rate at the next meeting if the ruble remains relatively stable during the week. In our view, if the regulator decides to reduce the rate in April, it will be very significant – most likely, the rate will be reduced by 50 basis points to 5.5%,” Minko said.

Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday that the central bank will consider a reduction of the key rate as a priority option at a meeting of the board on April 24.

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