The Bank of Russia’s board of directors raised its policy rate by 100 basis points to 8.5% on December 17, the seventh time it has done so this year. All told, the central bank has increased its benchmark rate 425 basis points since March.

“Inflation is still high,” said governor Elvira Nabiullina, though authorities indicated it may be starting to fall. The October 2021 inflation reading was 8.4%, well above expectations. However, the central bank estimated inflation stood at 8.1% as of