CHELYABINSK, February 16. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin hopes that the Bank of Russia’s interest rate hike is a temporary measure

"In conditions of raising the key rate of the Central Bank, of course, we need special mechanisms. I hope this is a temporary measure to combat inflation, and we will soon achieve the key indicators that we set for ourselves - both the government and the Central Bank," the head of state said at a meeting on supporting investment projects in domestic industries.

According to him, for now, "we need targeted support measures, special mechanisms to support industry."

"And we have such mechanisms, including a cluster investment platform," he added.

The President noted that as part of this program, companies that launch projects in key industries and produce priority products can count on preferential loans of up to 100 billion rubles ($1.1 bln).

On February 16, the Bank of Russia decided to maintain the key rate at 16% per annum at its first meeting in 2024, indicating that it is too early to say that the recent downward trend in inflation is sustainable.

The Bank of Russia will hold its next key rate review meeting on March 22, 2024.