Kazakhstan to adopt new methodology for inflation data calculation

ASTANA. Feb 20 (Interfax) - A pilot project for the introduction of a new methodology for calculating inflation data will begin in Kazakhstan in May 2024, the government's press service said in a statement on Tuesday.

The launch of the new methodology was discussed at a Tuesday meeting of the government chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin.

The head of the National Statistics Bureau, Maksat Turlubayev, told the meeting that experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had visited Kazakhstan to provide recommendations for the introduction of the new methodology. Based on the recommendations, the monthly inflation rate will be calculated using data for the previous three weeks but not on a weekly basis as it was earlier; all data will be analyzed to make sure it reflects real spending by households and to calculate experimental indices for certain groups of goods.

Alongside the new technology for inflation data calculation, Kazakhstan will develop a national catalogue of goods to ensure thorough and transparent monitoring of staples prices in both retail and wholesale chains, the press release says.

The existing system for inflation monitoring involves a long and cumbersome process of collecting and analyzing data on prices. The Fiscal Data Operator database today lacks any classification or codification of goods. Therefore, a national catalogue of goods should be adopted in order to simplify the data processing procedures and to increase data reliability, the press service said.