According to the Central Bank's review, in the first half of 2026, there was an acceleration in the growth of foreign currency supply in the domestic market of Uzbekistan compared to the growth in demand.
According to the Central Bank's review, in the first half of 2026, there was an acceleration in the growth of foreign currency supply in the domestic market of Uzbekistan compared to the growth in demand.
Total currency demand reached almost $32 billion, showing a 20% increase. Meanwhile, supply, excluding operations by the Central Bank itself, increased by 31%, reaching $27.8 billion. Demand expressed by legal entities amounted to $25.2 billion, which is 19% higher than in the January-June 2025 period. Individuals acquired currency worth $6.8 billion, exceeding the previous year's figure by 26%.
For context, in the first half of 2025, total demand was $26.6 billion, and in the same period of 2024, it was $22.4 billion, indicating an overall demand increase of nearly 43% over two years.
The total volume of foreign currency supply in the domestic market, excluding the actions of the Central Bank, reached $27.8 billion, compared to $21.1 billion the previous year (a 31.3% increase) and $17.2 billion in the first half of 2024. Of this volume, $13.5 billion was attributed to legal entities and banks, $12.3 billion to individuals, and about $2 billion to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Reconstruction and Development Fund.
The Central Bank specified that additional liquidity generated by the regulator's operations with monetary gold was neutralized through currency operations, utilizing monetary policy tools and the principle of neutrality.
In the January-June period, legal entities' demand for foreign currency grew by 19%, while supply from these same entities increased by 29% compared to last year. Currency supply received from exporters rose by 30%, amounting to $10.1 billion. Of this amount, $5.6 billion, or 55%, was realized in the domestic currency market. Compared to the first half of 2025, the volume of exported revenue sold increased by $1.2 billion, corresponding to a 26.4% growth.
Concurrently, importers' reliance on purchasing currency in the local market increased: the share of funds obtained through conversion to finance imports rose from 63.1% in January-June 2025 to 67.2% in the first half of 2026. At the same time, the share of companies' own currency reserves in financing imports decreased from 23.7% to 22.6%, and the share of using currency loans decreased from 13.2% to 10.2%.
During the first half of the year, $9.28 billion in international remittances arrived in Uzbekistan (a 13% increase), and $1.33 billion was sent out of the country. Residents sold $12.3 billion in foreign currency to banks (nearly 40% more) and acquired $6.8 billion. The Central Bank emphasized that the growth in remittances, along with the increase in export earnings and currency supply from legal entities, contributed to maintaining relative exchange rate stability in the first half of the year.
There is a significant growth in the mortgage lending sector in Uzbekistan. In the first six months of 2026, commercial banks provided mortgage loans to 42.6 thousand citizens for a total amount of 13.1 trillion soms.
This figure demonstrates an increase in financing by 3.6 trillion soms compared to the same period last year. The average interest rates applied to the issued loans ranged from 16.8% to 21.6%, depending on the source of the funds.
A large share of the allocated funds was directed towards the purchase of both new and under-construction housing. Furthermore, 75% of all mortgage loans were used to purchase properties on the primary market, indicating high consumer interest in new buildings. The remaining 25% of the loan volume was directed to the secondary real estate market.
