Russia’s central bank slashes rate, saying inflation slows

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian central bank diverged from its Western counterparts by slashing its key interest rate just a month after dropping it to where it was before the country sent troops into Ukraine. The bank on Friday lowered its key rate by 1.5 percentage points, to 8%, saying consumer prices are still easing partly because consumer demand has been falling. It says inflation expectations have “significantly decreased,” while a decline in business activity was slower than expected in June. As sanctions have led to economic isolation, the central bank has managed to stabilize the currency and financial system by preventing money from leaving Russia and forcing exporters to exchange most of their foreign earnings into rubles.