ST. PETERSBURG, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Central Bank could cut its key lending rate to 10% in 2010, the finance minister said on Friday.

"If inflation reaches 10% (the basic forecast for 2010), the refinancing rate may be cut to 10% in the middle or by the end of the next year," Alexei Kudrin told journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He added that the refinancing rate needs to be lowered carefully because the GDP and inflation forecasts for 2010 are uncertain.

The Central Bank announced on Thursday it would further cut the refinancing rate by 0.5 percentage points to 11.5% per annum from June 5, following a slowdown in consumer price growth.