Monetary conditions continue to ease but remain tight in February–March
Money and bond market rates declined in March. However, inflation expectations of households and businesses remained elevated, and therefore real interest rates declined on average.
Interest rates on corporate loans and household deposits shifted downward in February. Lending to the economy rose in February due to renewed growth in corporate lending. Contrastingly, retail lending expansion halted owing to declining demand in the mortgage segment and a reduction in outstanding non-mortgage loans.
Fiscal operations supported money supply growth in March. As a result, the annual growth rate of broad money remained close to the February level.
More details are available in the Bank of Russia’s information and analytical commentary Monetary Conditions and Monetary Transmission.