(Reuters) – Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina and deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin gave a news conference after the central bank left its key rate unchanged at 7.5 percent on Friday.
The central bank officials spoke in Russian. The quotes below were translated into English by Reuters.
NABIULLINA ON DECISION TO LEAVE KEY RATE UNCHANGED
“This time we had a very broad consensus on the decision that the rate should be left unchanged. As for our further actions, we believe that monetary policy is now in the neutral zone and in doing so we have given a neutral signal. This means that the further trajectory of the key rate, the direction of our monetary policy will depend on future data on the economy, inflation, inflation expectations, and, depending on what factors carry the most weight, we may maintain, increase or decrease the rate.”
NABIULLINA ON INFLATIONARY EFFECTS OF MOBILISATION
“In the coming months, due to a decrease in consumer demand, its effects will be disinflationary, but then pro-inflationary effects may appear through changes in the structure of the labour market, a shortage of personnel in certain areas. It is still difficult to assess all the economic consequences of the shift in employment structure. They will manifest themselves gradually through the adjustment of wages and the increased flow of labour between industries and regions.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
