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Russian central bank may cut key rate by more than 1 percentage point in July, senior central banker says - REUTERS
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -The Russian central bank's board may consider an interest rate cut of more than 1 percentage point at its meeting on July 25 if data confirms that inflation is on track to slow to 4% in 2026, Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin said on Monday.
"If the data received by that time on the economy, the labour market, credit activity, actual inflation, and inflation expectations indicate that a slowdown in inflation to 4% is consistent with a more significant step, then this option will also be considered," Zabotkin told reporters.
At its last board meeting on June 6, the regulator cut its key interest rate by a full percentage point to 20%. Zabotkin said the cut at the upcoming meeting could be "more significant than at the meeting in June".
The central bank expects inflation to slow down to 7% to 8% in 2025 from 9.5% in 2024 and hit the target of 4% in 2026.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Gleb Brya
