TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 16.
Uzbekistan’s Central Bank decided to keep the main rate at 14
percent per annum on September 14, 2023, Trend reports.
Maintaining the base rate at the current level will create the
necessary conditions for the formation of inflation within the
framework of the forecast until the end of the year, and is
considered as a necessary measure to eliminate the influence of
monetary factors on prices.
Alternative indicators of economic activity confirm the
formation of aggregate demand in the economy at a high rate.
The bank further said that the number of real estate
transactions increased by 7.7 percent from January through August
2023. One of the factors supporting economic activity remains the
annual growth of loans to the economy by 1.3 times.
The volume of total cash receipts from January through August
increased by 30.4 percent, revenue from trade and paid services –
by 27.7 percent. At the same time, the volume of cross-border money
transfers decreased by 32.4 percent under the influence of the high
base effect, while maintaining a significant increase compared to
the results of 2021.
Positive real interest rates continue to support activity in the
deposit market, the bank said. In August 2023, the weighted average
interest rates on term deposits of the population in the national
currency amounted to 21.7 percent (17.1 percent for legal
entities), resulting in an increase in the balance of term deposits
amounted to 48.3 percent as of September 1.
Keeping the central bank’s base rate unchanged contributes to
the formation of short-term liquidity prices at a positive level of
3-4 percent in real terms, thereby contributing to the provision of
moderately tight monetary conditions.
