Russia’s central bank may pause its monetary easing cycle if oil prices fall to $40 a barrel, Kremlin economic aide Andrey Belousov said in an interview. “If the situation on the foreign-exchange market changes as a result of a significant drop in oil prices — to $40 a barrel, with fluctuations between $40 and $45 — then the central bank will probably halt the process of cutting the rate,” Belousov said by phone on Tuesday. The rout on commodities markets may force the central bank to change tack if it reignites inflation and further destabilizes the ruble, which is trading at a six-month low. Policy makers led by Elvira Nabiullina have lowered their benchmark interest rate by a cumulative six percentage points to 11 percent in five steps this year after an emergency increase in December. Belousov, a former economy minister who replaced Nabiullina as President Vladimir Putin’s aide […]