OREANDA-NEWS  The published data on inflation in Russia, which turned out to be a record low for the entire observation period for such a week of the year, make it possible to continue reducing the key rate, said Sofya Donets, chief economist at T-Investments.

According to her, on December 19, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation may consider options for lowering the indicator in the range of 15-16 percent per annum.

"We, like the market, are still inclined to decrease to 16 percent," the expert called the most likely move of the Central Bank, explaining that although the "victory over inflation" makes a "New Year's surprise" possible, the multidirectional trends in the development of the economic situation, as well as the impact of the upcoming VAT increase on it, are also important..

The day before, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation reported that by December 8, inflation in the country had slowed year-on-year to 6.34 percent.

The Bank of Russia has lowered its key rate four times in a row since June, bringing it from 21 to 16.5 percent per annum. At the same time, according to Finuslug, the average deposit rates in the 20 largest banks of the Russian Federation have increased over the past month and a half since the adoption of the last relevant decision on all proposed terms in the range of 0.15-1.46 percentage points. Some analysts see this growth as a sign that credit institutions expect a pause in lowering the key rate from the December meeting of the regulator's board of directors.