By CentralBankNews.info
The central bank of Uzbekistan kept its benchmark refinancing rate steady at 10.0 percent, saying in a brief statement from April 28 that the decision was based on actual and expected inflation, and the monetary targets for this year.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan last changed its rate in December 2013 when it cut the benchmark rate by 200 basis points to the current 10 percent.
Uzbekistan’s inflation rate rose to 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 from 3.3 percent in the third quarter. But the country’s inflation rate typically jumps in the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, for example, inflation rose to 7.6 percent from 4.5 percent in the previous month and in the fourth quarter of 2011 it rose to 7.3 percent from 4.2 percent.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts 2014 average inflation of 11.0 percent, down from 11.2 percent in 2013 and 12.1 percent in 2012.
Uzbekistan’s economy expanded by 8.0 percent in 2013, but the IMF forecasts slower growth of 7.0 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2015.
Uzbekistan, north of Turkmenistan and south of Kazakhstan in central Asia, gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It’s economy is mainly based on commodities, such as cotton, gold, uranium and natural gas.
