National Bank of Kazakhstan explains base rate increase

The National Bank of Kazakhstan announced the reason for raising the base rate to 14 percent. According to the governor of the financial regulator Galymzhan Pirmatov, inflationary pressure occured amidst geopolitical risks and rising prices in the world. The uncertainty in foreign markets still remains, he noted. As such, annual inflation in these conditions accelerated, all sectors observe a rise in prices. The decision to lower the base rate will be made only if the prices go down and foreign markets stabilize. Until then, inflation will keep rising in the near future.

“In this regard, the role of anti-inflationary monetary policy is now important to support consumer savings. These measures will help us balance demand and supply, and avert chaotic inflation that has hit double digits. Therefore, the decision to raise the base rate for us is primarily a necessary step to prevent rising inflation,” Governor of the National Bank said.

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova