Will consider further tightening (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Moscow, 26 Jul - Bank of Russia said that its board has increased its key rate by 2.00 percentage points to 18.00% a year due to higher-than-expected inflation.

"Inflation has accelerated and is developing significantly above the Bank of Russia's April forecast. Growth in domestic demand is still outstripping the capabilities to expand the supply of goods and services. For inflation to begin decreasing again, monetary policy needs to be tightened further. Returning inflation to the target requires considerably tighter monetary conditions than presumed earlier," the central bank said in a statement.

The central bank added that it will consider "the necessity of further key rate increase at its upcoming meetings." The Bank of Russia raised is inflation forecast for 2024 to 6.5-7.0%. It expects annual inflation will decline to 4.0-4.5% in 2025 and stay close to 4% further on.

The bank's board will hold its next key rate meeting on September 13.

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(RADIOCOR) 26-07-24 13:15:36 (0386) 5 NNNN