The Russian central bank reduced its key rate by 50 basis points to 14.5% on Friday, as expected by analysts, despite pressure from businesses to cut faster to boost the economy, which contracted by 1.8% in the first two months of the year. The central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina urged caution on the impact of the Iran war and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent prices for Russia's export commodities soaring even as Russia has had to cut oil output due to Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries.