After the increase in energy tariffs, inflation expectations reached 14 percent

In May, the population's inflation expectations were 14.0 percent, and entrepreneurs' inflation expectations were 12.7 percent. General inflation has reached an annual rate of 10.6 percent. This was announced at the meeting of the Central Bank Board on June 13, 2024.

"The impact of tariff changes on inflationary expectations is lower than initially forecast," the Central Bank said.

In May, inflation increased by 2.8 percent compared to April. Such a sharp increase was last observed five years ago, in August 2019.

In general, starting from 2023, inflation in Uzbekistan should be reduced to a target of 5 percent. At the meeting held in October last year, the deadline for reaching the 5 percent target was extended to the second half of 2025.

"The Central Bank pays special attention to the balance of demand and supply in the economy and the formation of inflationary expectations in the implementation of a relatively strict monetary and credit policy aimed at achieving the 5 percent inflation target," the report says.

Monetary Policy

It was also reported that from January to May, compared to the same period last year, receipts from trade and paid services increased by 37.4 percent, and the volume of payments by economic entities through banks increased by 36.4 percent. The volume of money transfers increased by 21 percent.

From January to May, banks allocated loans amounting to 102 trillion soums, or 6 percent more than in the corresponding period of the previous year. During this period, time deposits of the population in the national currency increased by 21 percent, the number of people with bank accounts increased by 6.1 percent, and the number of their accounts increased by 14.8 percent.