The Russian central bank has pledged to cut interest rates in order to reduce pressure on the rouble.

Following World Bank optimism about the country's economic outlook for 2010, the bank warned the market against a one-way bet on the strength of the oil-driven rouble.

Reuters reports that Sergei Shvetsov, head of the Russian central bank's open market operations department, remarked: "The rouble won't always move one way".

The spokesperson for the central bank, which purchased $700 million this week, after buying around $15 billion in October, continued: "I'm sure the level of (rouble) volatility will remain the same as with other (currencies) pairs and I would not take a risk to predict that the rouble will continue to strengthen."

According to Shvetsov, pressure on the rouble is growing as a consequence of "carry trades" (the practice of borrowing in lower-yielding currencies to invest in those with higher interest rates). As a result, he maintains that rate cuts are a way of reducing pressure on the Russian currency.

In a recession-busting move to get the country back on its feet, Russia's central bank has reduced the refinancing rate to 9.50 per cent since April.