SEP. 26 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon has told Tajiks to hoard two years worth of food supplies ahead of winter, media reported. The presidential office quoted Mr Rakhmon as saying that a global rise in commodity prices and a winter that is expected to be harsh, means it is vital to stock up on supplies.
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(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)
SEP. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s economy shrunk by nearly 5% in the first eight months of 2012 because of problems at its Kumtor gold mine, Reuters reported quoting official statistics. Kumtor accounts for 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP. This year the company running the high altitude open-pit mine said ice flow moves would knock production.
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(News report from Issue No. 104, published on Sep. 14 2012)
AUG. 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s economy grew by 11% in the first seven months of the year, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on national television. The figures confirm the massive gas-powered growth rate of the country although it does mark a slight slowdown against the 14.4% recorded in the same period last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 100, published on Aug. 10 2012)
AUG. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bucking a trend, Armenia’s Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at 8% at its latest meeting.
Although the Central Bank said inflation has slowed to the bottom of its anticipated spectrum, it warned that expected grain price rises posed an inflationary risk. Drought in the major grain growing countries has pushed up prices across the world.
The last time Armenia’s Central Bank cut interest rates was September 2011. While neighbouring Central Banks have cut interest rates in tandem with a slowing global economy, Armenia has maintained a steady course.
Kazakhstan has cut its interest rate four times this year to a record low of 5.5%. Neighbouring Georgia cut its interest rate by 0.25% in April, May and June.
Explaining its thinking, the Armenian Central Bank said inflation measured 2.3% for the 12 months to the end of July. This is just below its inflation target but is a significant jump from the month before and, according to the Central Bank, shows inflationary pressure building.
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(News report from Issue No. 100, published on Aug. 10 2012)
AUG. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s biggest economy, cut its interest rate to 5.5% to try and stimulate growth. Emerging economies around the world have been fighting stalling inflation with interest rate cuts. This was Kazakhstan’s fourth rate cut in 2012. It comes into effect on Aug. 6.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)
JULY 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state oil fund plans to start investing cash in global equities, media quoted Shakhmar Movsumov, its executive director, as saying. From September, the fund will invest $600m in shares listed on the MSCI Index. UBS and State Street will advise the fund.
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(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)
JULY 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After cutting Georgia’s interest rate by 0.25% in each of the past three months, the Georgian Central Bank kept it unchanged at 5.75% in July because deflation had slowed. Compared to the same a year earlier, Georgian consumer prices fell by 0.2% in June and 3.3% in May.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
JULY 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A poor wheat harvest has forced a three-fold increase in the price of bread in Turkmenistan, one of the country’s most important staple foods, media reported. The AP news agency said wheat harvests had fallen by 25%, angering President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov who sacked the agriculture minister.
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(News report from Issue No. 096, published on July 13 2012)
JUNE 20 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Battling to fight falling consumer prices, Georgia’s central bank cut interest rates to 5.75% from 6%. This was the third monthly interest rate cut and reflects a regional trend. Countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia are trying to stem deflation, or slowing inflation, with interest rate cuts.
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(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)
MAY 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Georgian Central Bank cut interest rates to 6% from 6.25%, its second interest rate cut in two months, to try and counter the country’s slowing economy. Consumer prices in April were 2.1% lower than a year earlier, the third consecutive month of deflation.
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(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)
