National Bank of Kazakhstan Lifts Key Interest Rate by 325 Basis Points and to Over Five-Year High
February 24, 2022
In Kazakhstan, which like Ukraine had been part of the defunct Soviet Union empire, the central bank today hoisted its policy interest rate by a whopping 325 basis points to 13.50%. That increase follows hikes of 50 basis points in January and a trio of 25-bp moves in the second half of 2021. The Kazakhstan tenge sank 6%, and CPI inflation in that country of 8.5% is well above the targeted 4-6% corridor. Central banks in both Russia and Kazakhstan have pledged to intervene in foreign exchange markets to smooth depreciation in their currencies. It would be the first such operations in Russia’s case since it seized Crimea in 2014.
Copyright 2022, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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