CBU: Stable Soum Exchange Rate Benefits Economy and Public Debt

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Timur Ishmetov, stated that there is no targeted policy for the exchange rate of the soum, and the regulator does not pursue a strategy of either constant appreciation or depreciation of the national currency.

“The best exchange rate for the economy is a stable one,” he emphasized.

According to Ishmetov, the strengthening of the soum has helped slow down imported inflation, with price growth in certain categories of goods falling to 6.1 percent.

He added that the stronger national currency has also reduced the cost of servicing external debt.

“Preliminary estimates show that savings on public debt servicing amounted to 1.3 trillion soums, and on corporate debt — 3.6 trillion soums, totaling nearly 400 million US dollars,” noted the head of the Central Bank.

Ishmetov also highlighted that an analysis of foreign trade operations revealed that around 15 percent of export goods and 40 percent of import goods are sensitive to exchange rate fluctuations, making currency stability particularly important for the national economy.