Russia's central bank slashes rate

The Russian central bank slashed its key interest rate, Friday, just a month after dropping it to where it was before sending troops into Ukraine.

It said inflation was easing partly as consumer demand falls. The bank lowered its key rate by 1.5 percentage points, to 8%. Central bank head Elvira Nabiullina said at a news conference Friday that the situation with the inflow of foreign currency in cash into the country is not expected to improve in the near future.

She added that restrictions introduced in March will be extended in September, in particular the 10,000 US Dollars limit of foreign currency that can be taken from bank accounts in cash per month. Nabiullina, however, added that "even in the most apocalyptic scenario" cash dollars will continue to circulate in the country.