At the regular meeting on April 21, the Board of the Central Bank decided to keep the interest rate unchanged at 17% per annum.

Photo: Central Bank of Uzbekistan

The regulator raised the base rate by 3% from 14% in mid-March in light of the 'economic shock' due to the Ukraine crisis.

Prior to that, the bank kept the refinancing rate unchanged at 14% per annum in January, March, April, June, September, October and December 2021 and on January 20 this year.

At the beginning of 2018, the main rate was set at the level of 14%, but in 2019 it rose to 16%.

In April 2020, the rate dropped to 15%. During the coronavirus pandemic and in a difficult economic situation, it remained unchanged. At the end of 2020, the interest rate was reduced to 14%.