BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. The Central
Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) will announce its next decision on the
parameters of the interest rate corridor on September 23, 2026,
according to CBA’s statement.
The bank noted that decisions on the interest rate corridor for
the remainder of the year will also be made taking into account the
inflation outlook and the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators.
“Taking into account uncertainties in the global environment,
forecasts of macroeconomic indicators under several scenarios will
be considered. When making decisions on the parameters of the
interest rate corridor, developments in the foreign exchange market
and liquidity dynamics in the banking sector will also be taken
into account. In particular, the persistence of appreciation
pressures on the manat exchange rate and the scale of the foreign
currency surplus will also be monitored when making decisions,” the
statement said.
On July 31, the Board of the Central Bank of the Republic of
Azerbaijan decided to keep all parameters of the interest rate
corridor unchanged. The refinancing rate was kept at 6.5%, while
the lower and upper bounds of the interest rate corridor were set
at 5.5% and 7.5%, respectively.
Analysts at Dutch banking group ING also expect the CBA to keep
its refinancing rate unchanged at 6.5% at its upcoming meeting.
According to an ING analytical review, current inflation in
Azerbaijan has stabilized at 5.6–5.8%, within the CBA’s target
range of 4% ± 2%.
At the same time, ING analysts said that amid rising inflation
and interest rates at the global and regional levels, the CBA may
pay greater attention to inflation risks in its upcoming
statements. The bank also does not rule out the possibility that
the regulator could give more hawkish signals regarding its future
monetary policy.