Russia raises interest rate to 7.5 pct to ease inflation

The Bank of Russia decided on Friday to increase the key interest rate from 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent per year due to rising inflation pressure.

The annual inflation rose to 7.4 percent in September from 6.7 percent in August, the central bank said in a statement.

Inflation increased substantially above the bank's July forecast and is expected to be within the range of 7.4 to 7.9 percent at the end of 2021, the bank said.

It forecast that, given the monetary policy, the annual inflation will edge down to 4-4.5 percent next year.

Its forecast for gross domestic product growth remains unchanged at 4-4.5 percent in 2021, according to the bank.