Russia raises interest rate to 7.5% to ease inflation

MOSCOW: The Bank of Russia decided on Friday to increase the key interest rate from 6.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent/annum due to the rising inflation pressure.

The annual inflation rose to 7.4 per cent in September from 6.7 per cent in August, the central bank said in a statement.

Inflation increased substantially above the bank’s July forecast and is expected to be within the range of 7.4 per cent to 7.9 per cent at the end of 2021, the bank said.

It forecast, given the monetary policy, the annual inflation will edge down to 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent next year.

The forecast for gross domestic product growth remains unchanged at 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2021, according to the bank.