AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan's National Bank raised the key rate by 25 basis points to 9.75%, regulator said.
In the context of an increased external and internal inflationary background, the National Bank continues to normalize monetary policy in order to reach a corridor of 4-6% in 2022, the central bank said, adding it would continue a deflationary monetary policy.
The move comes amid accelerating inflation in Kazakhstan, which reached 8.9% in September, tracking persistent price growth in Russia and internationally, Bloomberg reports. The next key rate decision is scheduled for Dec. 6, according to the statement.
Kazakhstan’s economy grew 3.4% in Jan.-Sept. 2021. The national currency tenge is little changed against the dollar since the previous key rate decision on Sept. 13. The national oil fund and state companies sold a combined $1.1 billion on the domestic market in September, while the central bank said it didn’t intervene in the currency market. The central bank-run pension fund has transferred about 1.9 trillion tenge ($4.45 billion) to customers since Feb. 1 as stimulus to help improve living conditions.