We have performed a decomposition of Russia's GDP growth rates to assess the current state of the Russian economy. Basic production factors (labour, capital, total factor productivity) in 2018 contributed to the growth around 1.6 p.p. Global crude oil prices posted a negative contribution of...

At its June meeting, for the first time this year, the Bank of Russia Board of Directors decided to cut the key rate by 0.25 pp. to 7.5% per annum. Such a decision was motivated by the plunge of annual inflation in April-May 2019 to 5.1%, coupled with weakening inflation risks. The inflation...