Kazakh National Bank raises base rate to 18% to curb inflationThe Monetary Policy Committee of Kazakhstan’s National Bank has raised the policy rate to 18% per annum with an interest rate band of ±1 p.p., the National Bank said in a press release on Friday."The easing of monetary conditions amid accelerating inflation, signs of demand outpacing supply, and an active fiscal policy required a decisive response to stabilize inflation dynamics and prevent the risk of an inflationary spiral," the press release says.According to the regulator, both annual and monthly inflation in September exceeded expectations across all components, with price growth accelerating for food, services, and non-food goods.External inflationary pressure persists, and risks from global food markets are intensifying, according to the press release.Despite persistent inflationary pressures, the National Bank highlighted that economic growth accelerated to 6.5% year-on-year in January–August 2025, compared to 3.7% in the same period of 2024. However, it added that growth remains concentrated in sectors driven by fiscal expansion and domestic consumption.“Pro-inflationary risks are primarily driven by domestic factors, including persistently high domestic demand, secondary effects from the utility tariff reform and the liberalization of the fuel market, as well as the inflationary impact of the tax reforms, including value-added tax,” the press release says."Given these conditions, the Committee has decided to raise the base rate to tighten monetary policy,” the regulator said.The National Bank notes that this decision will help stabilize inflation and inflation expectations, maintain the value of tenge-denominated assets, and prevent the risk of an inflationary spiral.The next decision of the Monetary Policy Committee concerning the base rate will be announced on November 28, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. Astana time.Previously the National Bank raised the based rate by 1 percentage point in November 2024, bringing it to 15.25%, where it stayed for over three months. In a surprise move in early March 2025, the regulator hiked the rate by 1.25 percentage points to 16.5%, citing the need for stronger measures to curb accelerating price growth. The rate was left unchanged at the previous meeting on August 29 this year. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX