BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) has changed the schedule for announcing monetary policy decisions for 2026 to the public.
This was reflected in the CBA’s statement.
Specifically, the date for announcing the next decision on interest rate corridor parameters and holding the associated press conference has been moved from November 4, 2026, to October 29, 2026.
A meeting with experts is also planned for that day.
According to a decision of the CBA Management Board made today, the refinancing rate was maintained at 6.5% and the upper bound of the interest rate corridor at 7.5%. Meanwhile, the lower bound of the interest rate corridor was reduced by 0.5 percentage points to 5%. The decision regarding the interest rate corridor parameters took into account the dynamics of actual and projected inflation, processes in the foreign exchange market, changes in the banking sector's liquidity position, and recent trends in global monetary conditions.
The statement noted that the reduction of the lower bound of the interest rate corridor aims to encourage trading in the interbank money market amidst conditions of excess liquidity in the banking sector. Widening the corridor is expected to encourage banks to engage in more active interbank transactions by reducing the CBA's level of participation in the money market. Meanwhile, maintaining the upper bound of the interest rate corridor and the policy rate at their current levels serves to stabilize inflation expectations.
The statement emphasized that decisions regarding the interest rate corridor for the remainder of the year will be made by taking into account inflation forecasts, the dynamics of key macroeconomic indicators, developments in the foreign exchange market, and liquidity dynamics within the banking sector. The statement also noted that, given the uncertainties in the global environment and the intensity of their transmission to the domestic economy, forecasts for macroeconomic indicators will continue to be assessed based on multiple scenarios.
