Russia’s central bank lowered interest rates to their level before the invasion of Ukraine, as the ruble remains under pressure to appreciate and the economy reels from sanctions. Following a large cut at an extraordinary meeting two weeks ago, policy makers used their scheduled session on Friday to reduce the benchmark again, this time to 9.5% from 11%. A majority in a Bloomberg survey of 23 economists predicted a smaller reduction of 100 basis points. The Bank of Russia said in a statement that it “will consider the necessity of reducing the key rate at its upcoming meetings.” Governor Elvira Nabiullina will take ... (full story)