The Russian economy may recover by the end of this year. Such terms were named by the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina at a briefing, the event was broadcast by the regulator’s YouTube channel.
Previously, the Central Bank believed that the economy would reach a pre-pandemic level by mid-2022. However, the situation turned out to be better than expected due to the fact that strict restrictions were not re-introduced, Nabiullina noted. In addition, businesses are better prepared for the second wave of coronavirus, and external demand for Russian exports turned out to be higher than expected.
The head of the Central Bank is confident that economic growth will continue thanks to the recovery of domestic and external demand. The regulator predicts an increase in Russia’s GDP by 3-4 percent in 2021.
The Central Bank at a meeting on February 12 left unchanged the key rate at 4.25 percent, which was expected for the market. The regulator sees no reason for further decline due to inflationary risks. The Central Bank expects that by the end of the year inflation will not exceed the base level of four percent.
For the first time, the regulator set the key rate at a record low for modern Russia, a level of 4.25 percent in July last year. Since then, the Central Bank has saved it unchanged three times.