Reuters Poll: Russian Rouble seen weaker this year

Results of the latest Reuters poll showed on Tuesday that a majority of the economists polled expect Russia’s inflation to tick slightly higher, while the Russian Rouble is expected to weaken this year.

Key Findings from the survey:

“The median forecast of 19 analysts and economists polled by Reuters was for consumer inflation of 4.2 percent this year, above last month's call for a 4.1 percent reading.

But by the end of 2017, the central bank is expected to trim its main lending rate to 8.25 percent from 9 percent.

The rouble currency is seen trading at 61 versus the dollar a year from now, weaker than the 58.5 forecast by the previous poll.

Analysts now on average expect Russian gross domestic product to expand by 1.4 percent this year, up from 1.3 percent predicted a month ago.”