Kazakhstan’s inflation declines for 10th consecutive month, National Bank reports

During the meeting, President Tokayev was informed on economic conditions, business activity, inflationary pressures and measures being taken to stabilize prices.

It was highlighted that annual inflation has been falling for the tenth month in a row, reaching 10.2 percent in July. This trend is driven by ongoing monetary policy, the strengthening of the tenge exchange rate, stabilized consumer activity, and a set of coordinated anti-inflation measures implemented by the Government and the National Bank.

The meeting also addressed lending trends. As of July 1, 2026, banks’ business loan portfolios had grown 17.1 percent year over year, while lending to small and medium-sized businesses accelerated to 29.6 percent.

At the same time, growth in consumer lending slowed from 21 percent early in the year to 13 percent, which the National Bank said reflected the impact of prudential measures and a normalization of consumer lending. As a result, lending resources are increasingly being directed toward business financing.

Suleimenov also reported on developments in the foreign exchange market, as well as the assets of the National Fund and the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF), and the country’s international reserves.

As of July 1, the combined value of the National Fund and international reserves stood at 127.3 billion US dollars.

The National Fund generated 2.3 billion US dollars in investment income during the first half of 2026, while UAPF pension assets reached 27.8 trillion tenge, increasing by 1.7 trillion tenge since the beginning of the year.

The meeting also covered measures to develop the financial ecosystem of Alatau City, including initiatives aimed at facilitating capital flows and attracting investment.

Suleimenov presented an update on the implementation of the president’s directives concerning digital financial assets and the development of Kazakhstan’s national digital financial infrastructure.

Among the new areas being developed are the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments, financial infrastructure development and the issuance of tokenized government assets.

A new segment of the payments market has also been introduced, consisting of licensed first-category payment organizations. The National Bank expects the move to promote competition, reduce costs for customers and expand access to digital financial services for individuals and businesses.

Meanwhile, QR payments and transfers by phone number between customers of different banks were launched within the National Payment System on July 19. Since its launch, the system has processed 6.5 million transactions worth 170 billion tenge.

It was noted that the National Bank continues to implement measures aimed at maintaining price stability and achieving its medium-term inflation target of 5 percent.

Following the meeting, President Tokayev assigned a number of tasks to the National Bank governor and stressed the importance of further stabilizing inflation.

Earlier, Qazinform reported the National Bank had cut its base rate to 16.75 percent in late June.