Central Bank to consider possible rate cuts of 100 bps or more in July - Tremasov

ST. PETERSBURG. July 3 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia will consider possible rate cuts of 100 basis points or more in July - a smaller reduction than that seen in June will not be on the table, said Kirill Tremasov, adviser to the Central Bank of Russia's governor.

"The forecast varies because we see inflation is slowing faster than we expected. Today, this is an objective fact. So there's no doubt we'll consider reducing the rate in June," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Central Bank's Financial Congress in St. Petersburg.

"Given that the slowdown in inflation has accelerated, we will probably not consider a smaller reduction than in June [that is, less than 100 bps]. A bigger one, yes, it is possible," he said.

The Central Bank lowered the rate from 21% to 20% in June, but a cut of 50 bps was also on the table at the board meeting. The next meeting is on July 25.