Russia cuts benchmark rate by 50 basis points

Russia’s central bank cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent on Friday, but warned that it was running out of room to cut borrowing costs further in the months ahead.

Friday’s decision is the sixth consecutive cut since the central bank raised rates to a record 20 per cent following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Inflationary pressures have weakened since then, offering policymakers the…