Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  The soum continues to decline against the US dollar. As of December 20, the exchange rate stands at 12,870 soums to the US dollar. This means that over the past week, the soum has dropped by another 0.11%. The previous week, it lost 0.35%. As a result, the cumulative losses for December now appear significant for the usually stable soum.

The correlation with the Russian ruble remains weaker than before. This is due to Uzbekistan’s strong internal economic foundations. The correlation wave began to weaken in November. This phenomenon was evident in moments when the ruble depreciated, dragging others down with it, such as the Kazakhstani tenge.

Overall, the situation for the soum appears neutral, but there is significant pressure from the USD. This is due to the rapid appreciation of the US dollar on the global stage, influenced by the stance of the US Federal Reserve.

In the coming week, the dollar/soum exchange rate is expected to remain within the range of 12,850–12,920 soums.

Anna Bodrova, Analyst at Alpari