Kazakhstan’s annual inflation was 11.8% in July, in line with the previous month. The next central bank meeting is set for August 29, and while consensus expectation is currently for the central bank to hold interest rates, there is a chance of the NBK hiking, in an effort to contain pass-through to inflation from the current currency weakness in Kazakhstan. Further, the current account deficit widened by USD 1.2 bln to reach USD 2.8 bln in 2Q25, mainly due to a seasonal increase in imports.