Russia cuts interest rates

Russia’s central bank has cut its main lending rate by one percent as inflation slows and the economy struggles.

After a scheduled monetary policy meeting, the bank dropped its one-week minimum auction repo rate to 11.5 percent.

Russia’s central bank has come under pressure from some officials to ease policy after it raised rates by 6.5 points to 17 percent in an emergency move in December to stem a run on the rouble.

Russia’s economy is straining under the impact of Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and a fall in global oil prices which are squeezing the country’s export earnings and dampening investment.