The Central Bank explained maintaining the key rate at 14%

MOSCOW, September 29 - RIA Novosti. The increase in inflation pressure specifically in stable components and an increase in inflation estimates to 5-6% is the main signal that forced the Bank of Russia in September to act more cautiously on the issue of the key rate and take a pause in reducing it, said Advisor to the Chairman of the Central Bank Kirill Tremasov.

At its meeting on September 11, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation maintained the key rate for the first time since April 2025 at 14% per annum. The regulator took a course towards easing monetary policy in the middle of last year and reduced the key rate at the previous ten meetings.

“In terms of the stable components, at the beginning of the summer, in June, the picture remained very restrained. But in July, in August, we already saw that inflation pressure in the stable components of inflation was beginning to increase. I already said that we raised the estimate to 5-6%. And this is precisely one of the main signals that forced us to act more cautiously, to take a pause,” Tremasov told reporters on the sidelines of the event “Topical Issues of Monetary Policy Bank of Russia".

According to him, the rise in inflation expectations also influenced the preservation of the rate. “You saw the jump in inflation expectations of both the population and business in the summer. An increased level of inflation expectations is something that can affect the stability of inflation processes and prevent inflation from returning to the target,” added the adviser to the head of the regulator.

“So, yes, the rise in persistent inflation, the rise in inflation expectations is what forced us to act more carefully,” he repeated.