ALMATY (Reuters) – The persistence of inflation in Kazakhstan means further monetary tightening is required, central bank governor Galymzhan Pirmatov told a government meeting on Tuesday, two weeks ahead of a scheduled policy rate review.
Kazakhstan’s annual inflation surged to a 14-year high of 17.7% in September against a background of growing government spending, supply chain disruptions and the depreciation of the local tenge currency against the Russian rouble.
Pirmatov said the arrival of tens of thousands of Russians fleeing a conscription campaign has also fueled an increase in consumer prices.
“The persistence of high inflation against the background of fiscal stimulus and strengthening demand in the economy, with external shocks also taken into account, requires further monetary policy tightening,” he said.
Kazakhstan’s central bank is set to review its monetary policy on Oct. 26. It left the key rate unchanged at 14.5% last month.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Tom Hogue)
