[Russia Cuts Interest Rates for the Seventh Consecutive Time to Stimulate the Economy] Reported by Golden Finance, March 20 news: On Friday, the Central Bank of Russia cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 15% for the seventh consecutive time, in line with the expectations of most economists. In its statement, the Central Bank of Russia noted: 'In February, the pace of price growth slowed significantly as the impact of one-time factors that emerged at the beginning of the year gradually faded. The uncertainty of the external environment has increased substantially.' The bank's assessment of the underlying annual inflation rate is approximately 4% to 5%. According to the latest weekly data, the annual inflation rate has also dropped to 5.8%. At the same time, under the heavy burden of high borrowing costs, signs of economic pressure are increasingly evident. Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) declined in January. Although the Ministry of Economic Development stated that this was due to technical factors, the business confidence index across almost all industries has continued to fall, indicating that economic activity is indeed contracting. (Jin10)