Inflation in Uzbekistan rises slightly to 7.3% in February

Annual inflation in Uzbekistan rose slightly in February. According to the National Statistics Committee, it stood at 7.3 percent, up from 7.2 percent in January. This marks the first increase in overall inflation since July of last year. Nevertheless, it remained well below the level recorded in February 2025, when the rate was 10.1 percent.

Month-over-month inflation was 0.6 percent. This was lower than January’s figure of 0.7 percent but slightly higher than the level in the same month a year earlier. Core inflation—excluding fruits and vegetables—was 0.5 percent month-over-month. Year-over-year, it rose slightly from 8.1 percent in January to 8.3 percent in February.

Food prices rose by 1 percent month-over-month, following a 0.8 percent increase in January. Year-over-year, prices were 5.9 percent higher—twice as high as in February 2025 (2.9 percent). Non-food prices rose by 0.2 percent month-over-month. The annual rate stood at 5.2 percent, down from 7.4 percent a year earlier.

Services and Transportation

Prices for services rose by 0.6 percent month-over-month. Year-over-year, however, the rate of increase slowed significantly to 13.3 percent.

Waste disposal fees rose particularly sharply. They increased by 4.7 percent compared with the previous month and by 32.6 percent year-over-year. Rents rose by 0.5 percent month-over-month and by 2.3 percent year-over-year.

In the transportation sector, long-distance train tickets became 14 percent more expensive compared to the previous month and 14.9 percent more expensive compared to the previous year. Airfare rose by 4.4 percent month-over-month but was slightly below the previous year’s level year-over-year.

Energy prices show mixed trends

The picture for fuels was mixed. Prices for AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline fell by 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, compared with the previous month, while AI-98/100 rose by 0.3 percent.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices rose by 1.9 percent month-over-month and by 9.7 percent year-over-year. Methane prices remained stable month-over-month but were still about 30 percent higher year-over-year. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan revised its inflation forecast in January. It now expects inflation to fall to about 6.5 percent by the end of 2026.

This article was produced in cooperation with our partner bne intelliNews