The Central Bank of Uzbekistan maintained the key rate at 14% per annum following the meeting on April 29. The decision was explained by the need to maintain tight monetary conditions to consolidate the trend of declining inflation, the pace of which has begun to slow down in recent months.
According to the regulator, annual inflation in March was 7.1%, and core inflation was 5.7%. By the end of 2026, the indicator is expected to be around 6.5%. At the same time, price risks remain, including due to external factors – geopolitics, a possible increase in oil and food prices, and rising logistics costs.
The economy, meanwhile, shows confident growth: GDP increased by 8.7% in the first quarter, and the forecast for the year has been raised to 7–7.5%. Growth is supported by services, construction, trade, and investment inflows. The Central Bank emphasized that it is ready to maintain a tight policy and, if necessary, strengthen it to achieve the target inflation level of 5%.
