The Board of the Central Bank decided to increase the interest rate by 3 percentage points and set it at 17% per annum, the CB said in a statement today.
The Central Bank will publish more detailed information shortly.
The last rate increase was in September 2018 (from 14% to 16%), then the Central Bank lowered the rate twice during 2020: in April (from 16% to 15%) and in September (from 15% to 14%). Since September 11, 2020, the key has been at 14% per annum.
The lowest rate was set from January 2015 to May 2017 - 9%, the highest - in 1995 (300%).
The meeting of the Board of the Central Bank was supposed to be held on March 10, but was postponed due to the "risks of the external economic environment and high uncertainty."
“Against this background, it is necessary to conduct additional analysis to assess changes in the economies of Uzbekistan’s main trading partners and their impact on the economy,” the Central Bank explained.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan also raised the interest rate immediately by 3.25 percentage points - up to 13.5% - to reduce pressure on the foreign exchange market and keep inflationary expectations. The Russian Central Bank raised the rate from 9.5% to 20% back in February, a few days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine and the announcement by Western countries of several packages of sanctions against the Russian Federation.
