Uzbekistan's annual inflation rose to 6.4% in June, up from 5.5% in May, while monthly consumer prices increased 0.6%, driven primarily by higher utility tariffs and transport costs despite seasonal declines in fruit and vegetable prices, the National Statistics Committee reported.
Consumer prices increased 3.3% during the first six months of 2026. Excluding fruit and vegetables, underlying price pressures remained stronger, with monthly inflation reaching 1.5% and annual inflation 6.9%, indicating that seasonal food price declines masked broader inflationary trends.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels recorded the sharpest monthly increase among all consumer spending categories, rising 7.8%. The increase followed updated household electricity and natural gas tariffs introduced in June. Electricity prices increased by an average of 9.6% nationwide, while piped natural gas prices rose 10.7%.
Coal prices more than doubled after state price regulation was removed, making coal one of the largest individual contributors to inflation during the month. Overall, housing, utilities, and transport accounted for 1.13 percentage points of June's monthly inflation.
Transport prices also increased 2.4% during the month. Average gasoline prices rose 3.9%, with AI-95 petrol increasing 6%, while propane prices climbed 11.3% and methane 8.8%. Taxi fares edged up 1.3%, whereas railway and air ticket prices declined slightly.
Food prices, meanwhile, fell 1.5% in June as seasonal harvests led to sharp declines in fruit and vegetable prices, reducing overall monthly inflation by 0.61 percentage points. Eggplant prices dropped 46.6%, tomatoes 38.3%, bell peppers 31.4%, cucumbers 25%, and watermelons 26.3%. However, prices continued to rise for several staple products, including rice, milk, sugar, mutton, beef, eggs, carrots, and onions.
On an annual basis, housing and utility services recorded the highest inflation at 13.4%, followed by restaurants and accommodation services (7.8%), transport (6.8%), and food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.2%).
The Statistics Committee said no significant regional deviations from the national inflation rate were observed, with annual inflation ranging from the lowest in Surkhandarya region at 5.7% to the highest in Samarkand Region at 6.8%.
