Russian central bank slashes key rate to 11%, sees room to cut further

Russia’s central bank lowered its key interest rate to 11 per cent on Friday and said it saw room for more cuts this year, as inflation slows from more than 20-year highs and the economy is about to contract.

It announced the move at an extraordinary meeting after cutting the key rate to 14 per cent in April, weeks after an emergency rate increase to 20 per cent triggered by Russia’s move to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24.

The central bank, which has now slashed its key rate by a cumulative 900 basis points since February,