Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 7
By Rashid Shirinov – Trend:
The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) forecasts that the annual inflation in 2019 will be within the target range of 4-6 percent, near its upper limit, Trend reports citing Kapital.kz.
"Compared to the previous forecast, the inflation trajectory has been adjusted to a slight decrease, which is due to the expected decline in prices for monopolists' services in 2019," the bank said.
As previously said the press service of the bank, the NBK managed to decrease the inflation level by over threefold, from 18 percent in July 2016 to 5.3 percent to November 2018.
The National Bank believes that in the first half of 2020, annual inflation will continue to slow down gradually. The main factor that will determine the dynamics of inflation will be the future reinforcement of real cash income as a result of an increase in minimum wages, reduction in the tax burden for low-paid categories of workers, and continued growth in consumer lending.
"We expect that the external inflationary background will deteriorate due to the upward revision of inflation forecasts in Russia. We assume a possible depreciation of the Russian ruble, and a decline in energy prices due to the excess of supply over demand in the forecast period," said the bank's message.
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