MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s central bank sees oil prices stabilizing at $60 per barrel going forward as it expects global demand to rebound as trade restrictions ease, the bank said in minutes of its April 25 board meeting, published on Monday.
The central bank kept its key interest rate on hold at 21% at the meeting in April. The minutes, which are published about two weeks after each board meeting, provide insight into the factors that influenced the decision.
“Global demand will recover as trade restrictions and tariffs are reduced, and as a result of government support measures being implemented,” the bank said.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures jumped $2.43, or 3.8%, on Monday to $66.34 a barrel after the U.S. and China said they would ease some of their tariff measures, raising hopes of an end to the trade war between the world’s two largest consumers of crude oil.
The oil price has fallen by about 20% from a 2025 peak of $82 per barrel reached on January 15.
The central bank said that the impact on Russia’s economy of new trade tariffs in the world economy is seen as limited, mainly expressed through lower global oil prices. However, it warned that the risks of a further escalation of global trade wars are significant.
“Prolonged enforcement of restrictions may affect the dynamics of oil prices,” the central bank said.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya, writing by Gleb Bryanski, editing by Susan Fenton)
