Exclusive: Russia cenbank to choose between holding and raising rates in April – policy head By Reuters – Investing.com

Exclusive: Russia cenbank to choose between holding and raising rates in April – policy head By Reuters – Investing.com

© Reuters. Kirill Tremasov, head of monetary policy department at the Bank of Russia, poses for a picture in Moscow







By Andrey Ostroukh and Elena Fabrichnaya MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian central bank will consider holding or raising interest rates at its April 23 board meeting as inflation is seen hovering above the 4% target throughout 2021, the bank's head of monetary policy, Kirill Tremasov, said. After slashing the key rate to a record low of 4.25% in 2020 to help the economy through the crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and a crash in oil prices, the central bank raised it to 4.5% and said more hikes would follow. The monetary tightening took place amid rouble depreciation driven by fears of fresh sanctions against Moscow. The rouble weakness poses upside risks for inflation as it filters into consumer prices. Geopolitical risks were not the key factor behind the March decision to raise rates, Tremasov said in an interview with Reuters.