BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13. The growth rate of prices for finished products of Kazakhstan's enterprises slowed down, with the diffusion index being 59.6 in the first quarter of 2023 (in the fourth quarter of 2022 – 62.3), Rustem Orazalin, Director of the Department of Monetary Policy of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, said, Trend reports citing the press service of the National Bank.
In the first quarter of 2023, the demand for finished products improved, as indicated by the increase in the diffusion index from 51.4 to 52.9. The production sector recorded a notable improvement in the indicator, with a score of 53.4, while the services sector also saw an increase in the diffusion index to 52.7.
Enterprises still consider the state of the economy of Kazakhstan to be the main obstacle to doing business. This was stated by 34.1 percent of the surveyed enterprises. Other obstacles mentioned are as follows: competition (30.0 percent); the level of taxes (24.8 percent); lack of qualified personnel (23.9 percent); search for buyers (23.5 percent); regulatory changes (15.1 percent); difficulty in returning receivables (13.9 percent); and access to finance (13.5 percent).
The composite leading indicator (CLI), which is an aggregated assessment based on surveys of enterprises in the real sector, remained at the level of 100.3. This suggests that while economic growth in Kazakhstan remains weak, there are positive trends indicating continued progress.
Overall, the results of monitoring enterprises for the first quarter of 2023 indicate a moderate growth rate of economic activity in the real sector.
