The Central Bank of Uzbekistan announced that at its meeting on July 29, it considered only one decision option – to maintain the key rate at 14% per annum. As explained by Samigjon Inogamov, Director of the Monetary Policy Department, the question of lowering it was not even put up for discussion, despite the slowdown in overall inflation and the decrease in inflation expectations since the beginning of the year.

According to the Central Bank representative, significant pro-inflationary risks persist in the economy. High economic activity and a positive output gap require maintaining a tight monetary policy. One of the main conditions for a possible easing of policy, the regulator calls a sustained decrease in core inflation, which currently stands at 5.7%, as well as a further reduction in inflation expectations of the population and businesses.

The Central Bank also warned that a slight acceleration of inflation is possible from the second quarter of 2028. Among the reasons cited are the June increase in energy tariffs and the probable growth of production and transport costs. At the same time, the regulator emphasized that it does not set a target exchange rate for the national currency and continues to adhere to the free exchange rate regime operating in the country since 2017.