MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Russia’s economy keeps growing but at a slower pace than in the first half of 2024, the Central Bank said in a press release following the meeting of the board of directors on the key rate.

"The Russian economy continues to grow but at a slower pace than in 2024 H1. This deceleration is mainly caused by increasing supply-side constraints, including a decrease in the availability of spare production capacity and labour resources. Domestic demand is supported by growth in lending and incomes of households and businesses, as well as by increased fiscal spending. The upward deviation of the Russian economy from a balanced growth path is still significant. This is also evidenced by high current inflationary pressures," the regulator said.

The Bank of Russia sharply raised the key rate by 2 percentage points to a record level of 21% per annum at the meeting of the board of directors on Friday. It also did not rule out the possibility of its further increase at the next meeting, saying that further tightening of monetary policy is required to ensure the return of inflation to the target and reduce inflation expectations.