The Communist Party of the Russian Federation announced the Central Bank’s plans to start reducing the key interest rate in March.

“Starting in March, the Central Bank’s interest rate will decrease and gradually reach the 23-year level,” the president of the Central Bank concluded her speech to the deputies of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma with such an optimistic forecast “Prusakova wrote.

At the same time, he stressed that Nabiullina’s past forecasts “have not been fulfilled” and expressed doubts that “in the near future we will see a real reduction in the Central Bank’s interest rate.”

The press service of the Central Bank, in response to a request from RB.RB, reported that “the information does not correspond to reality.” A representative of the mega-regulator clarified that the president of the Bank of Russia, speaking with the faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, “did not mention specific dates for changing the key exchange rate.”

“The path of the rate will be determined by the dynamics of inflation and inflation expectations. “The forecast path of the key interest rate was published as part of the medium-term forecast after the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia on October 25, 2024,” he added.

The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia, at a meeting on October 25, raised the key interest rate to a record 21% per year. This was the third rate increase in 2024. The last high was in February 2022, when the rate was raised to 20% annually.

The regulator also allowed an increase in the key rate at the next meeting, which will take place on December 20. According to economists, the figure could reach 22% by the end of 2024 because inflation will exceed the Central Bank’s expectations.

At the beginning of 2023, the key rate was 7.5% per year, but in July the Central Bank took steps to tighten its policy. By December, the rate had risen to 16%.