MOSCOW, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage point to 16.5 percent annually on Friday.

"The economy continues to return to a balanced growth path. Lending growth has accelerated in recent months. Inflation expectations remain high," the bank said in a statement.

Noting that pro-inflationary risks have increased and outweigh disinflationary ones in the medium term, the bank said it would maintain monetary conditions as tight as necessary to bring inflation back to its target.

According to the bank's forecast, given the monetary policy stance, annual inflation will decline to 4-5 percent in 2026.

In June, the central bank lowered its key rate for the first time in almost three years to 20 percent from a record high of 21 percent. The rate was slashed further in July and September by 2 percentage points and 1 percentage point, respectively. ■