Food Prices Help Kazakhstan Curb Inflation In August

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 1. Kazakhstan's annual inflation slowed to 9.8% in August 2026, while monthly inflation stood at 0.6%, the country's Ministry of National Economy said.

The monthly increase in prices was 0.4 percentage points lower than in August 2025, when prices rose by 1%.

"The slowdown in inflation is supported by the implementation, on the instructions of the Head of State, of a set of measures by the Government jointly with the National Bank and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market aimed at containing price growth, ensuring macroeconomic stability and improving the well-being of the population," the ministry said.

The main contribution to the slowdown in inflation continues to come from lower food price growth. Annual food inflation slowed to 9.5% in August, compared with 10.1% in July 2026.

Meanwhile, prices for socially significant food products increased by only 2.1% as of August 26, 2026, which was 7.4 percentage points lower than a year earlier, when the increase stood at 9.5%.

"This result was ensured by a set of measures, including expanding the list of socially significant food products from 19 to 31 items, continuous monitoring of compliance with the maximum 15% trade markup, identifying and reducing unproductive intermediaries, increasing the supply of domestically produced goods to the domestic market and ensuring food affordability," the ministry said.

The ministry noted that the slowdown in overall inflation continued despite factors related to the gradual liberalization of the fuel market and the expiration of the moratorium on increases in regulated utility tariffs.

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