Economy Continues Returning to Path of Balanced Growth - Central Bank

13:43; 13 February 2026 year

### Russian Economy Continues Toward Balanced Growth Trajectory The Russian economy is continuing its return to a trajectory of balanced growth, according to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), which announced its decision to lower the key interest rate to 15.5% per annum. "In January, price growth significantly accelerated due to one-off factors. However, the sustainable indicators of current price growth, in our assessment, have not changed significantly. After the influence of these one-off factors is exhausted, inflation will resume its decline," the regulator emphasized. The CBR will assess the appropriateness of further lowering the key interest rate based on the dynamics of inflation deceleration and inflation expectations. According to the baseline scenario, the average key interest rate in 2026 will be in the range of 13.5–14.5% per annum, indicating that a tight monetary policy will remain in place. As a result, annual inflation is expected to fall to 4.5–5.5% by the end of this year. It is projected that inflation will reach the 4% target level in the second half of 2026 and remain close to this target in 2027 and beyond.

Investment

Events

Niches and markets

Technologies and trends

Development infrastructure