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Central Bank: Recovery of Russian economy opens up room for lower interest rates

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. The Central Bank marks recovery of Russia’s economy, which opens up opportunities for reduction of interest rates, head of the regulator’s monetary policy department Igor Dmitriev said.

"Now we observe economic recovery indeed. However, many optimistic forecasts imply higher oil prices than those which were laid in the forecast of socio-economic development and the baseline forecast of the Central Bank. If the oil price is higher the growth will be also better. But the point is that the economy is now recovering. We see inflation data, which is 5.4%. All this opens up room for lowering rates," Dmitriev said.

He also noted that these factors open up an opportunity for a gradual easing of monetary policy. At the same time, according to the official, it is important to understand the danger of hasty steps because if all this is done too early, when the situation is not 100% stable, it may prompt population to give up saving behavior and lead to a lower confidence in the ruble.