Forex Flash: CBR cuts 25bp on some LTRO rates – TD Securities

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The Central Bank of Russia kept its rates unchanged as expected, but lowered by 25bp the rates on some long-term refinancing operations, “which the Bank does not expect to significantly affect money-market interest rates, but will lower the costs of financing for credit institutions, making monetary policy more effective”, according to TD Securities analysts. “There was speculation ahead of the announcement that the CBR may cut rates today, justifying the spike in yields after the announcement, as these expectations were disappointed. However, the CBR removed from their statement the sentence that "the current level of money market interest rates is appropriate for achieving the balance of the main macroeconomic risks", opening the way to lower rates in May or (more likely) in June”, wrote analyst Tim Davis.