The Russian central bank unveiled its press release where it said that many financial and economic indicators improved and economic recovery is expected.
The Bank of Russia cut its benchmark rate by 50bps to 10.5% on June 10th. The previous rate cut was on July 31th, 2015.
According to the regulator, the rate cut was possible thanks to improvement of many financial and economic indicators, particularly due to stabilization of the annual inflation rate, which was below forecasts. The central bank said consumer prices as well as inflation expectations are expected to continue to decrease.
Economic resilience to fluctuating energy prices is confirmed by first-quarter GDP figures and macroeconomic data for April.
The report of the regulator also reads that the Russian economy is nearing the recovery phase. According to the bank’s forecast, the quarterly GDP growth will begin in the second half of 2016. In 2017, the pace of growth is seen at 1.3%. The forecast is based on the expectation of the oil price at about $40 in the next three years.
