Russia's central bank reduced the benchmark interest rate to 8%

Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, July 22 (Reporter Zhao Bing) The Central Bank of Russia announced on the 22nd that the benchmark interest rate was reduced by 150 basis points to 8%.

The Russian Central Bank said in a statement that day that the external environment is still full of challenges and severely restricts Russian economic activities.At the same time, the current inflation rate is relatively slow, and inflation is expected to decrease.Russia's annual inflation rate in June decreased from 17.1%in May to 15.9%.

The Russian central bank predicts that under the current monetary policy, the Russian inflation rate will drop to 12%-15%in 2022, fall to 5%-7%in 2023, and will further drop to 4%in 2024.

In addition, the Russian central bank also predicts that GDP in Russia (GDP) in 2022 will decrease by 4%-6%, and will decrease by 1%-4%in 2023, and it is expected to increase by 1.5%-2.5%in 2024.

At the end of February this year, the Russian Central Bank increased the benchmark interest rate to 20%, which has been reduced many times since then.

- END -