Russian central bank governor defends rate cut

Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina defended the bank's decision to cut rates on Friday, saying that the monetary loosening would stop an excessive slowdown in the economy. Nabiullina said in an emailed statement that the rate also remained high enough to allow the central bank to reach its inflation target in the medium term. "Today's decision to lower the key interest rate by 2 percentage points is intended to balance the goal of curbing inflation and restoring economic growth," th