Central Banks
Kazakhstan Holds Rates Again as Inflation Seen Close to Peak
- Government selling stockpiled vegetables to cool food prices
- Premier seeks to cut inflation to 9.5% from 20.7% in January
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Kazakhstan kept borrowing costs unchanged for the second time this year and signaled it will hold them there for the first half of 2023 as it revised down its forecast for annual inflation.
The National Bank held its key interest rate at 16.75% on Friday, leaving it within a quarter-percentage point of the highest ever, matching the expectations of all economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Inflation is now projected to be within a range of 9%-12% in 2023, from a previous forecast of 11%-13%, falling to 6%-8% next year and to 4%-6% in 2025, the bank said in a statement.