Nabiullina Spurns Kremlin, Rules Out Ruble-Gold Peg
On Friday, Elvira Nabiullina cut Russia's key rate for the second time since an emergency hike aimed at forestalling bank runs following Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.
In the statement accompanying the move, CBR said annual inflation was running near 18% as of April 22. That was up from 16.7% in March and 9% prior to the onset of hostilities.
Friday's cut was 300bps, which suggests real rates in Russia are now deeply negative. At the risk of lapsing into colloquialisms, there's n
This central banker’s statements are either insightful or defeatist: let inflation run hot to allow the economy to adjust.
It’s surprising they’re expecting inflation to cool down. Either think they can make do without the West or this is a boilerplate central bank speech: “don’t worry, let me anchor your inflation expectations”.