ALMATY: Kazakhstan's central bank is likely to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 9.75 percent in a policy review on Monday, after cutting it by 50 basis points in January, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.
Only four of 15 analysts polled this week predicted a 25 basis point cut, with nine expecting the rate to remain unchanged and two abstaining from a short-term forecast.
The Kazakh tenge gained 0.8 percent against the dollar last month, moving broadly in line with the Russian rouble.
Annual inflation slowed to 6.5 percent in February from 6.8 percent in January, but remained close to the upper bound of the central bank's target range of 5-7 percent.
"I think the rate will be kept unchanged at 9.75 percent at the upcoming meeting after the previous cut, which had shocked the market," said Aibek Burabayev, chief trader at the Kazakh subsidiary Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
"There are no reasons to cut as the effect of the previous cut on macroeconomic indicators is unclear so far," said Denis Ryltsev, managing director and treasurer at Alfa Bank Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan's central bank reviews the rate 10 times a year and some analysts expect cuts later this year.
Below are analyst forecasts for the policy rate following Monday's review and at the end of this year.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.