Evgeny Goryunov, head of the Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, said in a commentary for RT that the key rate may be significantly reduced by the end of next year if the current trend of slowing inflation continues. «If nothing extraordinary happens, inflation will be around 6.5–7.5% by the end of the year. It is now slowing down very quickly, and so far this process looks quite stable. Accordingly, the key rate will continue to decline and, I think, will reach 14–16% by the end of 2025," the expert predicted. Evgeny Goryunov also noted that the Central Bank may reduce the rate more aggressively in case of a threat of overcooling of the economy, but he estimates the probability of recession in Russia as low, assuming GDP growth of 1.2% this year.