Russia’s central bank hikes interest rates as inflation continues to spiral

Insights from The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Bell, and Bloomberg

Russia’s central bank hiked its key interest rate to 18% on Friday as the country grapples with rising inflation, Reuters reported.

It came as Russian businesses are reportedly struggling to carry out transactions even with friendly countries like China and Turkey as US sanctions mount. Washington widened the scope of secondary sanctions in June in an effort to undermine Moscow’s attempts to circumvent blocks on key resources