The bank did not give a reason for the cut. When it last cut the rate on Dec. 20, to 9.8 percent from 10.0 percent, it said that it wanted to lower average interest rates on loans and keep a stable level of money supply in circulation. The latest reduction returns the key rate to a level last seen in October 2011. The central bank raised it to 10.0 percent from 9.0 percent on Oct. 20. Inflation in Tajikistan, the poorest of 15 former Soviet republics, slowed to 9.3 percent last year from 9.8 percent in the preceding 12 months. Annual interest on loans issued by Tajik commercial banks averaged 21.5 percent in December. Tajikistan, a mountainous republic bordering Afghanistan and China, relies heavily on exports of cotton and aluminium as well as remittances from citizens working abroad. An estimated 1 million its 7.5 million people work abroad and send cash home.