Russia's central bank on Friday cut its lending rate by 0.25 percentage point to 4.25 percent to support vulnerable sectors of the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country's gross domestic product will likely decrease by 4.5-5.5 percent this year, but the economy will recover to a growth of 3.5-4.5 percent in 2021, the bank said in a statement.
Year-on-year inflation rose to 3.2 percent in June from 3 percent in May, which was largely due to an increase in fruit and vegetable prices, it said.
Inflation will reach 3.7-4.2 percent in 2020 and 3.5-4 percent in 2021, the bank predicted.
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