MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. The Central Bank may lift the key rate at next Board meetings, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia Alexey Zabotkin said at as press conference.

"To ensure the return of inflation to the target in 2024, we made the decision to increase the key rate to 8.5% in July and assume that it can be increased at next meetings," the executive said.

In July 2023, the regulator lifted the rate by one percentage point after a long pause and moved it to 8.5%. Further increase of the rate will depend on development of the economy and its response to the recent lifting of the rate, Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said earlier.