Page 18 - RusRPTOct21

(especially on the social front). As a result, we believe CBR could hike the rate another 50bps to curb the secondary effects of additional social outlays and global supply disruptions.”
2.8 Russian Business and consumer confidence
There was a slight cooling of the consumer confidence index in the third quarter which fell to -19%. The index reflects the aggregate consumer expectations of the population.
Amid growing deposit interest rates, the share of respondents preferring to keep their savings in bank accounts grew in August (up to 35%, +1pp vs July). However, this indicator also remainselow the pre-pandemic level of early 2020.
Theusiness confidence also cooled a little.business confidence broke into positive territory for the first time in almost a decade and rose to a peak of 0.7 in August as the post-crisis bounceback gathered pace.
But the index remains very seasonal and always retreats in the autumn and winter months. This year was no exception as the index wentack into negative territory in September to post -1%.
18 RUSSIA Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com