At its 25 October monetary policy meeting, Russia’s Central Bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 6.5%, the lowest level since 2014. This had been the fourth key rate cut since June. Monetary easing occurs at a time when inflationary pressures are declining (4% year-on-year in September) while economic activity remains sluggish. The Central Bank is now forecasting a growth of between only 0.8% and 1.3%, which is close to the growth forecasts of the IMF and World Bank (1.1% and 1%, respectively, vs. 2.3% in 2018). This slowdown can be attributed to the deceleration in both domestic and external demand
