Kazakhstan's annual inflation rate recorded a marginal slowdown to 9.1% in March, from 9.3% in February 2024, marking the lowest rate since February 2022. This figure also represents a significant decrease from the 18.1% rate observed in March 2023, the Bureau of National Statistics reports. Services saw a price increase of 13.2%, with non-food items rising by 8.2%, and food items by 6.9%.
The Pavlodar region experienced inflation at 2.1%, whereas the Turkistan region saw a minimal increase of 0.2%, highlighting the diverse economic dynamics and factors at play within different regions.
In terms of goods and services, the Zhetisu region recorded the highest price increase in food products at 1.1%. Conversely, non-food products saw their most significant price rise in the city of Shymkent, at 1.2%.
Eldar Shamsutdinov, a Kazakh economist, identifies the structural features of markets and personal factors like the cost of loan interests as critical contributors.
Shamsutdinov acknowledges the difficulty in evaluating government actions against inflation. He notes that while short-term price controls had some impact, the enduring nature of inflation and a high base effect played a more significant role in moderating the inflation growth rate.
Looking ahead, Shamsutdinov anticipates inflation to stabilize between 8.5% and 9% by the end of the year, with a projection of 7.5% to 8% for 2025, indicating cautious optimism for a gradual easing of inflationary pressures in Kazakhstan.
Earlier, Daryo reported that Uzbekistan's annual inflation rate decreased, reaching a point last seen in 2016, by the State Statistics Agency. The data indicates that the inflation rate for March 2024 was recorded at 7.98%, showing a decline from the previous year's rate of 11.66%. Additionally, the trend of decreasing inflation continued into the end of March, with the rate falling to 7.98%, a 0.37% drop from February's figures.
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