Russia Set to Cut Key Rate Amid Economic Woes and Iran-War Risks

Russia’s central bank is poised to continue cutting interest rates as the economy loses steam, though uncertainty over the budget and the fallout from the Middle East conflict is limiting how far policymakers are willing to go.

The Bank of Russia will lower the benchmark rate to 14.5% at Friday’s meeting, all nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg said. That would be the fifth straight 50-basis-point reduction.