Central Bank of Russia doubles interest rate to 20 percent

Moscow, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf The Russian Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance have responded to the West’s financial sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine war with drastic measures: Among other things, they have doubled the key interest rate and restricted trade in the Russian currency, the ruble. The Moscow Stock Exchange is even closed.

The currency watchdogs increased the key interest rate from 9.5 to 20 percent, as they announced in Moscow on Monday. At the same time, they signaled their readiness for further increases. The Belarusian central bank also raised the key interest rate from 9.25 to 12.0 percent.

The higher interest rates are intended to counteract the risk of the devaluation of the ruble and the risk of inflation. “This makes it possible to keep prices and finances stable and to protect citizens’ deposits from devaluation,” the regulator justified the step. The head of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, wants to explain the measures further during the course of the day at a press conference at 2 p.m. German time.