BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. Analysts at the Netherlands ING predict that the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) will begin the process of easing monetary policy in the fourth quarter of 2023, Trend reports.
According to ING forecasts, the CBA will reduce the discount rate by 50 basis points (from nine percent to 8.5 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2023.
ING estimates that monetary policy easing will continue in 2024–2025. So, in the first quarter of 2024, the discount rate will decrease by 25 basis points to 8.25 percent and will remain at this level throughout the next year. It will decrease by one percentage point to 7.25 percent in 2025.
The CBA decided to keep the discount rate at 9 percent at its last two meetings (June 21 and July 26).
The next meeting of the CBA on the issue of the discount rate is scheduled for September 20.
