By www.CentralBankNews.info The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan held its benchmark refinancing rate steady at 12.0 percent, saying in a brief statement that the board’s decision “is based on the main directions of the monetary policy for 2013, as well as actual and expected inflation.”
The central bank has maintained its rate since January 2011, when it was cut by 200 basis points.
On its website, the central bank said it would be holding a press conference on Aug. 7 but gave no further details about its policy decision.
Uzbekistan’s inflation rate eased to 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2012 from 3.4 percent the previous quarter while its Gross Domestic Product expanded by 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the same quarter in 2012, down from an annual rate of 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
The central Asian republic of Uzbekistan was previously part of the Soviet Union but gained its independence in 1991. The country’s economy is mainly based on commodities, such as cotton, gold, uranium and natural gas.
