The Bank of Russia central bank, which had suddenly hiked its repo rate from 8.6% to 20% on Feb. 28 after the NATO nations’ monster sanctions hit the Russian economy and currency, began reducing the rate on April 7. It cut the repo rate to 17% and said that further cuts were possible because banks’ deposits had recovered and the pace of inflation, though still rising, had slowed. The bank attributed these financial improvements to its capital controls, also announced Feb. 28 and strictly enforced since then. But it acknowledged that overall economic activity is declining in Russia under these sanctions, and said that financial risks were still present.