VTB doesn't think CBR will cut rate in Dec, expecting 5.75-6% at end of 2020
MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - The Central Bank is unlikely to cut the key rate in December but will resume monetary easing in 2020 at a slower pace, according to VTB executives.
"Honestly, I'm not expecting more cuts this year. [...] The more so given that now, at the end of the year, budget expenses are increasing and so on. I don't think they'll go for that [cutting the rate in December], no, I'm almost certain," VTB head Andrei Kostin said at the Russia Calling! Forum.
First deputy head Dmitry Olyunin said that the bank is expecting the rate to be cut in 2020 but at a "significantly slower" pace. "Our forecast for the end of next year is 5.75-6%," he said.
The CBR has cut the key rate four times this year: three times by 25 bps (in June, July, and September) and once by 50 (in October). It is currently 6.5%.