Economics

Russia Hits Brake on Rate Cuts, Sees Further Easing Possible

  • Ruble weakness contributed to inflation increase in August
  • Majority of economists in a survey expected the bank’s move
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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Russia’s central bank paused its monetary easing cycle after renewed sanctions jitters contributed to a surprise inflation uptick, but left the door open to an interest-rate cut at one of its next meetings.

After three back-to-back cuts, Governor Elvira Nabiullina held the benchmark interest rate at 4.25% on Friday, in line with expectations. Only four out of 42 analysts forecast a rate reduction, with the rest predicting no change, according to a Bloomberg survey.