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MOSCOW, December 15. The Central Bank increased the key rate by one percentage point, the regulator said in a press release.
«The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia <…> decided to increase the key rate by 100 basis points, to 16, 00% per annum,” the statement said.
The key rate is the minimum percentage at which the Central Bank issues loans to commercial banks for a week and at which it is ready to accept funds for deposits. Its size affects the level of inflation.
The Bank of Russia has been raising the key rate since July to combat accelerating inflation. At first, the instrument was increased by one percentage point, but in August, against the background of the fall of the ruble, the Central Bank immediately increased the rate by 3.5 percentage points. In September — by one more, in October — by two, bringing the figure to 15%.
The analysts surveyed generally expected that the regulator would raise the rate this Friday against the backdrop of the still high inflation and heated retail lending.
As noted in the release of the Central Bank, at the end of the year inflation is expected to be around 7.5%. At the same time, GDP growth will exceed three percent, which is higher than the October forecast.