The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia, at a meeting on Friday, September 12, decided to maintain the key rate at the level of 8% per annum, set at the end of July, according to the regulator’s website.

The Central Bank noted that the annual consumer price index increased again in August and early September. The reason for this was the realized inflation risks associated with increased geopolitical tensions, the introduction of foreign trade restrictions and the impact of these events on the dynamics of the ruble exchange rate, the report notes.

“As a result, inflation is highly likely to remain at a level exceeding 7% until the end of 2014,” the Bank of Russia said. In addition, inflation risks associated with the discussed changes in tax and tariff policies remain, the report notes.

Since the beginning of the year, the Central Bank has raised the key rate several times. On March 3, after the decision of the Federation Council to approve the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine, the Central Bank increased the rate from 5.5% to 7%. Then the regulator announced that the rate was raised temporarily to prevent risks to inflation and financial stability associated with an increased level of volatility in financial markets. At the end of April, the Central Bank again raised the key rate to 7.5%, saying that it would not reduce it in the coming months due to increased inflation risks. On July 25, the Central Bank raised the key rate to 8% per annum. The Central Bank explained the rate increase by the need to slow down the growth of consumer prices. The regulator did not rule out that it would continue to raise the key rate if inflation risks remained at a high level.

The Central Bank kept the key rate at 8%