Headline inflation in Uzbekistan cools slightly to 6.2% in August

Gasoline prices rose 1.9% m/m and 20.2% y/y.

Growth in Kazakhstan service sector cools in August, PMI shows

Business activity and new orders both decline. Staffing falls further. Input costs rise at weakest rate in five months.

Kazakhstan manufacturing downturn deepens in August, PMI shows

Health of sector deteriorates to largest extent in over four-and-a-half years on weaker demand and reduced customer purchasing power.

Azerbaijani banks' securities holdings shrink 13.5% y/y as returns fall

Azerbaijani banks' securities investments fell 13.5% year on year to AZN7.95bn by the end of July, with income from the segment down 16.8%, as the finance ministry scaled back government bond auctions.

Tracking the Kazakh tenge rally

Despite disruption caused by drone-hit oil exports, the currency has shown continued strength.

Uzbekistan’s 7M trade deficit widens to $9.7bn as exports decline and imports gain

Foreign trade turnover hits $49.5bn, higher by 8% year on year.

Azerbaijan raises 2026 inflation forecast to 5.7%, trims non-oil growth outlook

Finance ministry cut its 2026 forecast for non-oil, non-gas GDP growth to 3.1% from 3.7%, while leaving the overall economic growth forecast unchanged at 1.7%.

Kazakhstan services PMI hits highest level in more than 12 months

Stronger new business gains. Cost inflation weakest in months. Confidence, however, retreats to six-month low.

Uzbekistan’s headline inflation slows to 6.4% in July from 8.9% a year earlier

Gasoline prices soar 21.7%.

Azerbaijan's central bank reserves rise 4.6% m/m to $13.8bn in July

Azerbaijan's central bank foreign currency reserves have grown 19.6% since the start of the year and 23% over the past 12 months.

Kazakhstan manufacturing conditions decline to worst degree since March 2022, PMI shows

Sharpest fall in new orders in two and a half years. Confidence lowest in more than six years.

Central bank holds Azerbaijan's key rate at 6.5%

Central Bank of Azerbaijan left its refinancing rate unchanged, even as it raised its inflation forecasts for 2026 and 2027.

Ukraine less births than Kyrgyzstan this year as Central Europe's demographic crisis deepens

Ukraine is on track to record fewer births this year than Kyrgyzstan for the first time - a reversal from the end of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine's newborns outnumbered Kyrgyzstan's five to one.

Uzbekistan's 1H foreign trade reaches $41bn as trade deficit widens to $9.3bn

Exports decline 9%, imports move up 21%.

Azerbaijan's central bank sees no major risk to macro stability despite oil price swings

Uzbekistan's average monthly wage climbs 18% in 1H

The increase extended a multi-year upward trend, with figure now nearly double what it was at the end of 1H22.

Turkmen elites still “robbing” poor with official exchange rate trailing black market sixfold, say critics

Wage billed as worth $1,000 actually worth only $150 to ordinary citizen.

Azerbaijan's H1 oil and gas exports fall in value despite volume gains

Azerbaijan exported oil, gas and related products worth a combined $10.8bn in the first half of 2026, according to State Customs Committee data.

Pro-EU sentiment remains strong across Eastern Partnership countries, but divides widen

Public support for European Union membership remains robust across much of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova showing particularly high levels of trust and optimism.

Uzbekistan FDI on the rise

Uzbekistan has emerged as one of the developing world's most compelling investment stories, pulling in a record $43.1bn in FDI and loans in 2025 — up sharply from $31.9bn in 2024 and $19.5bn in 2023.