Inflation rates are gradually declining, largely due to stabilization in the financial markets. In the future, this will help lower interest rates and make credit more affordable. This statement was made on Tuesday, April 19, by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, speaking at a meeting of the government commission on improving the stability of the Russian economy in the face of sanctions.
“The Bank of Russia has started lowering interest rates without creating any risks for inflation. A further slowdown in inflation will also contribute to a decrease in interest rates in the economy, respectively, and the availability of loans to expand business activities,” Siluanov said.
He drew attention to the fact that interest rates in the economy on federal loan bonds (OFZ) have already fallen to 10.5%. Gradually, capital operations are also waiting for easing.
Earlier in the day, Maxim Reshetnikov, the head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, said that the Russian economy had withstood the first blow of the sanctions. This made it possible to stock up on a sufficient amount of time to restructure production chains, logistics and make other structural changes.
On March 14, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the United States, along with its allies, allegedly “totally crushed” the Russian economy with the help of sanctions.
On March 10, Anton Siluanov said that Western countries started an economic war against Russia, trying to create a shortage of goods. In such conditions, the key tasks of the government, according to him, remain the stabilization of the financial system of the state and ensuring its smooth operation.
On March 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on anti-crisis measures, which refers to a set of measures to support citizens and businesses. According to the law, the government received the opportunity to carry out additional indexation of insurance pensions, the pension coefficient and the fixed payment to pensions during 2022. In addition, until the end of this year, checks in relation to small and medium-sized businesses, IT companies are canceled and a simplified public procurement procedure is introduced.
Western sanctions were imposed after Russia launched an operation to protect civilians in the Donbass on February 24. A few days earlier, the situation in the region escalated significantly due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DPR and LPR) announced the evacuation of residents in the Russian Federation, and also turned to Moscow for help. On February 21, Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DNR and LNR.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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