National Bank of Kazakhstan lowers base rate once again

The National Bank of Kazakhstan on Friday lowered its interest rate to 16% from 16.5%.

"The Kazakh National Bank Monetary Policy Committee reduced the base rate to 16% annually, with a range of +/-1 percentage point," the statement reads.

It was noted that annual inflation is slowing down steadily in Kazakhstan. External inflationary pressure is decreasing owing to central banks' taming policies and lower global food prices. However, there is worry about the impact of raises in controlled prices, which used to be balanced by currency rate changes.

"Given the current situation and risks, there is not much room to reduce the base interest rate in 2023," the regulator said.