BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK), according to the inflation forecast, approached the end of the monetary policy tightening cycle, with a base rate raised to 16.75 percent, Trend reports via the bank's report.
The bank is currently implementing a disinflationary monetary policy based on the principles of inflation targeting and, to support this, the base rate has been raised to 16.75 percent.
The current level of the base rate is considered high enough to stabilize inflation and gradually reduce it over the medium term, as long as it is maintained at current levels for an extended period of time. In the absence of new pro-inflationary shocks, the probability of further tightening of monetary policy is low.
In March 2023, annual inflation decelerated to 18.1 percent due to the monetary tightening, base effect, slower growth of import prices and stronger exchange rate.