Russia's central bank says the economy is running hot again in Q3

Russia's economy is running hot again. That is the assessment of the Bank of Russia, the country's central bank, in the summary of its latest key rate discussion.

According to the bank, the economy grew moderately in the third quarter of 2026. It also returned to a positive output gap, which is the technical term for overheating.

In plain terms, that means total demand is bigger than the economy's production capacity. Think of a restaurant where more customers show up than the kitchen can serve.

The central bank noted that domestic demand kept growing through the third quarter. At the same time, supply was temporarily limited in some sectors, so producers could not fully keep up.

Why does this matter? Overheating is the kind of condition central banks watch closely when they set the key rate, the main interest rate that influences loan and deposit costs across the country. The summary is the regulator's own account of how it read the economy before its rate decision.