The Bank of Russia (photo by HANK50/Shutterstock.com)

The Board of Directors decided on Friday to cut the key rate by 50 basis points to 6.5%, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (commonly known as the Bank of Russia) said in a statement. The previous reduction in the rate was a 25 basis-point cut in September. 

Inflation expectations continue to decrease but the economic growth rate still remains subdued, the bank said. The slowdown in inflation is overshooting the forecast, the Bank of Russia added.

The bank expects inflation of 3.5-4% in 2020 and around 4% thereafter. The GDP growth forecast for this year was left unchanged at 0.8-1.3%, RTT News noted.