Madame Nabiullina is extremely competent and if this was a purely technocratic exercise she could knock off work at 10 am and go shop for brooches. But it's not purely technocratic.
She, as much as anyone in the upper reaches of power in Moscow knows the human impact of the bank's policies and that human impact is going to start depressing the populous, boom economy or not..From Bloomberg, October 25:
- Central bank increases benchmark rate by 200 basis points
- War spending complicates efforts to curtail price growth
The Bank of Russia hiked its key rate to a record high, surpassing the level it imposed after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, as policymakers grapple with persistent price growth.
The central bank raised the benchmark by 200 basis points to 21% on Friday. Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a 100 basis-point hike, and two out of 13 analysts had projected the rate to remain at 19%. Inflation continues to run at more than twice the central bank’s 4% target.
“The balance of inflation risks is still significantly tilted to the upside,” policymakers said in a statement. “The Bank of Russia holds open the prospect of increasing the key rate at its upcoming meeting.”
Inflation expectations, a key measure for monetary policymakers, have continued to rise, reaching 13.4% in October from 12.5% in the previous month. While the central bank has pledged to move inflation closer to the target next year, it’s on course to miss that goal for the fifth year running.
Governor Elvira Nabiullina is scheduled to hold a briefing at 3 p.m. local time....
....MUCH MORE
And to add to her concerns about the popular response to the economic situation Ukraine has begun bombing alcohol distilleries to take out that societal pressure release.