By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Bank of Russia has kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 21% on Friday.
"Monetary conditions tightened more significantly than envisaged by the October key rate decision," the central bank said, adding: "This is the result of the effects of factors autonomous from monetary policy."
It said the annual inflation in the country stood at 9.5% as of December and forecasted that it would decline to 4% in 2026.
According to October-November data, the Russian economy grew at a rate close to the third quarter of 2024.
"High domestic demand is still the main driver of growing economic activity," the bank noted.
In October, the Bank of Russia increased its policy interest rate by 200 basis points to 21%, marking a record high.
It raised the rate from 8.5% to 19% since July 2023 through to September 2024.