MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s annual inflation slightly slowed to 6.5% as of July 19, from 6.56% as of July 12, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, two days before the central bank’s rate-setting meeting.
The bank, which hiked rates to 5.5% at its meeting last month, is widely expected to raise rates again on Friday, with a Reuters poll on Monday showing market expectations leaning towards a 100 basis point hike, to 6.5%.
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Katya Golubkova)
