MOSCOW, March 15 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank could consider cutting rates at its next board meeting this month because of a sharp drop in inflation, the head of the bank's monetary policy department told Bloomberg, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Igor Dmitriev said seasonally adjusted monthly inflation slowed to 0.1 percent in February from 0.3 percent in January.
"These are clearly low readings and, for me, this is a reason to suggest to the board of directors in March to consider the possibility of lowering the rate among other (options)," TASS quoted Dmitriev as telling Bloomberg in an interview.
The next rate-setting meeting is scheduled for March 24. The central bank had previously said it saw limited room for a rate cut in the first half of 2017.
(Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Alexander Winning)