Interest Rate

The Bank of Russia lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate by half a percentage point to 7.75 percent on December 15th, as inflation continued to fall below its 4 percent target in recent months while the economy is growing at a steady pace. The bank also said it expected to deliver more cuts in the first half of 2018.
The recent annual inflation rate is below 3 percent, and this as stated will probably lead to further interest rate cuts as the economy is growing. Interest Rate in Russia averaged 7.30 percent from 2003 until 2017, reaching an all-time high of 17 percent in December of 2014 and a record low of 5 percent in June of 2010. Interest rate cuts by the central bank of Russia can be positive to the broader economic growth, but can lead to the depreciation of the Russian Ruble, making exports relative cheaper than before.
It is noteworthy that in year 2017, the Bank of Russia lowered the key interest rate for 6 times, from 10% early in the year to the final 7.75% at the end of the year. The key driver for the future monetary policy change will be the focus on inflation rate, but also monitoring the current economic conditions.