TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, April 25. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 14 percent per year, TurkicWorld reports.

According to the CBU, the current monetary conditions are forming in a relatively tight phase in comparison to the upper boundary of the updated forecast inflation corridor.

The bank notes that the inflation expectations of the population and entrepreneurs remain above the current and projected inflation rate. At the same time, under the influence of the adjustment of regulated prices and the introduction of VAT on a number of goods and services in April, the dynamics of inflation expectations may increase.

The CBU expects core inflation to remain on a steady downward trajectory and projects it to be around 7-8 percent by the end of the year. At the same time, the bank raises the forecast of headline inflation under the main scenario to 9–11 percent in 2024.

Earlier, the bank kept the level of the policy rate in Uzbekistan unchanged (14 percent per year) and projected the inflation to amount to 8–9 percent by the end of the year.