Russia cuts interest rates for the seventh consecutive time to boost the economy

Golden Ten Data reported on March 20 that on Friday, the Central Bank of Russia cut interest rates for the seventh consecutive time, lowering the benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 15%, in line with most economists' expectations. The Central Bank of Russia stated in its announcement: "In February, the pace of price growth slowed significantly, as the impact of one-off factors at the beginning of the year gradually faded. The uncertainty in the external environment has increased substantially." The bank's assessment of the underlying annual inflation rate is about 4% to 5%. According to the latest weekly data, the annual inflation rate has also dropped to 5.8%. Meanwhile, signs of economic stress are increasingly apparent under the heavy burden of high borrowing costs. Russia's gross domestic product declined in January. Although the Ministry of Economy stated that this was due to technical factors, business confidence indices in almost all industries have continued to fall, indicating that economic activity is indeed contracting.