The inflation rate in Tajikistan for the first half of 2024 was 1.9%, 0.4 percent lower than the same period last year, the Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Firdavs Tolibzoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on August 7.
This trend is primarily due to the rise in prices for food products by 1.3%, non-food products by 1.6%, and paid services by 4.0%.
The inflation rate for a year to June 30 this year was below the target level, standing at 3.5%, an increase of 1.1% compared to the same period last year.
Over the reporting period, Tajikistan’s financial regulator has reportedly reduced the refinancing rate by 0.25 percentage points, from 9.50% to 9.25%. This marks the second reduction in the refinancing rate this year, following a decrease from 10.0% to 9.5% in February.
Experts consider the refinancing rate, in a market economy, one of the few tools that can influence inflation: lowering this rate can increase the money supply in circulation, potentially raising prices for goods, and vice versa.
Over the same six-month period, the National Bank of Tajikistan continued its exchange rate policy based on a "floating regulated rate regime without setting and announcing limits on the rate change."
The official exchange rate of the somoni against the US dollar has reportedly strengthened by 2.7% over the reporting period.
