The main thing from the statements of Elvira Nabiullina at a press conference on June 19

Elvira Nabiullina, after the decision of the Bank of Russia on the key rate, held a large press conference, at which she summed up the meeting and answered journalists' questions. Details are provided by TASS.

The main thing is that the head of the regulator, who has not appeared in public for almost a month due to illness, confirmed that she had a cold. As a result, Elvira Sakhipzadovna lost her voice, which explains her absence at the SPIEF.

An important event on Friday, June 19, was the reduction of the key rate. But Nabiullina made it clear that further steps will be more cautious. The space for decline has shrunk, and the regulator may need pauses in the future.

Moreover, the forecast of the rate trajectory is likely to be revised upwards. According to the head of the Bank of Russia, all options were considered at the meeting — a reduction of 0.25 percentage points, which was eventually approved, and a more aggressive step of 0.5 percentage points, and even keeping the rate at the same level.

The head of the regulator especially emphasized that the previous rate hike was "a bitter but necessary medicine." It is thanks to the tight monetary policy that annual inflation has halved over the past year.

Nabiullina also warned of an imminent surge in inflation due to the fuel market, although the dynamics in annual terms may temporarily smooth out the postponement of the increase in utility tariffs from July to October. The economist also drew attention to the significant acceleration of lending — in five months the market mortgage has increased 3.5 times compared to last year.

The head of the Central Bank separately criticized populist calls to distribute cheap money to accelerate the economy, calling such ideas easy and harmful ways. In general, according to Nabiullina, the Russian economy is adapting, but the regulator will continue to act carefully, responding to inflation risks.