Annual inflation in Uzbekistan hits new multi-year low of 7% in April

In a broader context, annual inflation has dropped to 7%, a 3.1% decrease from the previous year. This marks a new record low since 2017, signaling a continued cooling of price pressures across the domestic market.

Excluding the volatile fruit and vegetable sector, the composite price index accelerated slightly in April compared to March, settling at 0.6%. However, the 12-month increase for this category stood at 7.6%, representing a significant drop of 4.7% compared to the previous year.

The dynamics within specific sectors show varied trends. The growth rate of food prices slowed to 1%, down from 1.2% in February, though this was still 0.2% higher than in April last year. On an annual basis, food products have become 5.9% more expensive – a rate nearly 1.5 times higher than that of a year ago.

Non-food items saw a modest increase of 0.3% for the month, with a 12-month gain of 5.2%. Meanwhile, the cost of paid services rose by 0.4% in April. Despite this monthly uptick, the annual growth for services has slowed dramatically to 12%, a sharp contrast to the 26.1% recorded last year.

Regional data indicates that Tashkent and Kashkadarya experienced the highest monthly inflation at 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Six other regions reported a 0.6% increase, while the remaining six saw growth of 0.5%.

Looking at annual figures by territory, the Republic of Karakalpakstan recorded the highest inflation at 7.4%, followed closely by Khorezm at 7.3%. Conversely, Jizzakh maintained the lowest growth rate at 6.3%, while the capital, Tashkent, saw an annual inflation rate of 6.9%.