Central bank reports sharp rise in foreign currency sales and purchases across Uzbekistan

The aggregate demand for foreign currency from legal entities and physical individuals reached $25.7 billion. The figure represents a substantial 20.1 percent increase compared to the same calendar period from the previous year. Corporate buyers accounted for the vast majority of this liquidity, with legal entities purchasing $20.2 billion. Meanwhile, retail demand from the general public made up the remaining $5.5 billion.

Concurrently, the total supply of foreign currency flowing into commercial banking networks expanded. Aggregated sales by corporate and private market participants grew by nearly $5 billion – an increase of 28.6 percent year-over-year – bringing total currency sales to $22.3 billion. Local citizens sold $10.2 billion to commercial banks during this five-month timeframe, while corporate entities supplied $12.1 billion back into the banking system.

Despite the marked acceleration in transaction volumes, the national currency showed remarkable structural resilience in the foreign exchange market. The exchange rate of the Uzbek soum fluctuated within a narrow horizontal channel between UZS 11,938 and UZS 12,320 per US dollar. The Central Bank noted that the value of the soum remained virtually unchanged from its opening level at the start of January, maintaining an average volatility margin of just UZS 30, or roughly 0.25 percent.