BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 15
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
According to the updated forecasts of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, by the end of 2020 the inflation rate in the country will decrease by one percent against the initial estimates (12-13.5 percent) and will amount to 11-12.5 percen, Trend reports citing the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
According to the bank, this is due to a number of factors. First, the decline in external and internal economic activity affects the income of the population, which leads to a significant reduction in demand for goods and services that are not in the group of essential goods in the consumer basket.
Moreover, the establishment of zero customs duties and excise taxes on imports of a number of basic consumer goods and their raw materials until December 31, 2020, will prevent a sharp rise in prices for goods in high demand during the coronavirus quarantine period.
As a result of the postponement of the next stage of energy price increases as part of the price liberalization reforms this year, due to falling energy prices on world markets or liberalization of domestic prices without raising them, these factors will not have an increasing impact on inflation.
Besides, the dynamics of price increases for certain foodstuffs and consumer goods of prime necessity under quarantine conditions is temporary in nature, the saturation of markets with these goods, as a result of the new harvest of agricultural products in the following months and the measures taken by the government to ensure food security will serve to stabilize their prices.
In addition, these factors to reduce inflation will help to mitigate the negative impact of the devaluation of the national currency on domestic prices, the message said.
In its turn, the Central Bank's interventions in the domestic foreign exchange market based on the principle of neutrality of gold and foreign exchange reserves will be carried out without affecting the fundamental trend of the exchange rate.
Previously, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan cut the interest rate by one percentage point and set it at 15 percent per annum.
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