CBR's Nabiullina: Russia's GDP contracted by 9-10% in Q2

The Russian economy is expected to have contracted by 9-10% in the second quarter, Central Bank of Russia (CBR) chief Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday. Earlier in the day, the CBR announced that it lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%.

Additional takeaways

"Economic recovery will take more than 1.5 years."

"Economic activity will be below 2019 levels in 2021."

"Inflation will return to 4% target gradually."

"We still plan to offer liquidity at long-term repo auctions despite low demand."

Market reaction

The USD/RUB pair largely ignored these comments and was last seen gaining 0.6% on a daily basis.