Smailov predicts inflation to be two times slower than last year

According to Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the inflation rate is going to be twice as low by the end of the year compared to last year.

«Inflation is gradually declining. It is going be twice as low as last year,» Smailov stated.

Even though the prime minister didn’t provide any details, last year, the rate was 20.3%. On August 25, 2023, Galymzhan Pirmatov, head of the National Bank said that the inflation rate would be at 10% to 12% by the end of the year; 7.5% to 9.5% in 2024 and 5.5% to 7.5% in 2025. He made this statement while commenting on the regulator’s decision to raise the base rate by 25 basis points to 16.5%.

In July, the National Bank raised the target rate of inflation from 4% to 5% due to «dynamic global processes» and «the changed macroeconomic landscape.» In addition, the regulator dropped its previous practice of interval targets and adopted a point-targeting approach.

Interestingly, the National Bank was recently planning to set a target in the range between 3% and 4% but changed its approach due to the macroeconomic situation.