MOSCOW, June 10 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told top officials on Wednesday that there are grounds to expect a cut in the central bank's key interest rate when it meets next week, and praised the monetary policy of central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina, who was absent from the meeting due to illness.
Nabiullina has cancelled two public appearances in the past week, including at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia’s biggest business conference, often dubbed the “Russian
Davos.”
She was due to speak at the main macroeconomic panel alongside Maxim Oreshkin, a presidential aide on the economy, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov. The central bank said Nabiullina was on sick leave.
Nabiullina has been under intense criticism from businesses over the central bank’s rate hike to 21% in 2024 to fight inflation, which contributed to economic growth slowing to 1% last year from 4.9% in 2023. Putin told officials that the central bank's policy has yielded results.
"The (economic) situation is under control; that's absolutely obvious. And the measures taken have produced the desired results," Putin said in televised comments.
The absence of Nabiullina, whose mandate runs out in June next year, has begun to raise concerns on social media. She was last seen in public during Putin's visit to Kazakhstan on May 28.
Nabiullina is due to hold her regular press conference after the central bank’s board decides on the key rate on June 19, with expectations of another cut from the current level of 14.5% as inflation slows.
"Inflation is falling — just over 5%. Therefore, I think we have every right to expect both a reduction in the key rate and the achievement of other necessary parameters," Putin said.
Nabiullina has run the central bank since 2013 and has faced multiple challenges, including after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the start of military action in Ukraine in 2022. She is widely credited at home and abroad with helping keep the Russian economy afloat after the West imposed sanctions. Nabiullina received several prestigious international awards prior to 2022. She is also under Western sanctions.
Amid the contraction in the first quarter, Putin told officials to find ways to boost economic growth, expected at a modest 0.4% this year, but the government is struggling to find a growth strategy beyond key rate cuts.
The economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, which officials blamed on high interest rates, Western sanctions and a strong rouble. The central bank said economic activity had picked up in April-May.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Maxim Rodionov and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
