Uzbek Households Sell Record US$12.3 Billion to Banks

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Households in Uzbekistan sold a record US$12.3 billion in foreign currency to commercial banks in the first half of 2026, almost 1.4 times more than in the same period of last year, when sales totalled US$9.1 billion, according to the Central Bank's review of the domestic foreign exchange market.

Foreign currency purchases by individuals also increased, but at a slower pace, rising 26% to US$6.8 billion from US$5.4 billion a year earlier.

As a result, foreign currency supplied by households exceeded demand by US$5.5 billion, with the positive balance becoming an additional source of supply on the domestic foreign exchange market. The surplus stood at US$3.7 billion a year earlier and US$2.6 billion two years earlier.

The increase in household foreign currency sales coincided with higher inflows of international remittances, which brought US$9.3 billion into the country during the first half of the year.

The sustained surplus of foreign currency supply over demand from individuals, together with higher export earnings, helped support the stability of the soum. At the end of June, the exchange rate stood at 12,009 soums per US dollar, virtually unchanged from the beginning of the year.