MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia will not reduce its key rate below the level of 15% per annum this year, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shokhin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV news channel.

He expects the regulator to approach further key rate cuts carefully. "[The Russian Central Bank chief] Elvira Nabiullina once again emphasized at the banking forum in Sochi that every step will be carefully examined," Shokhin added. "I said at the Eastern Economic Forum that [the rate would fall to] 13-14% by the end of the year while now it [is likely] to be 15% by the end of the year," he noted.

Earlier this month the Bank of Russia lowered its key rate for the third time in a row, this time by 1 percentage point, to 17% per annum. The regulator indicated though that it plans to maintain monetary conditions tight enough to return inflation to its target by 2026.