TASHKENT (Xinhua) – Uzbekistan’s Central Bank said on Tuesday it has decided to remove the limit on its exchange rate fluctuations.

“Yesterday, the Central Bank decided to cancel the maximum 5% deviation (cap) in the fixing of the [Uzbek] sum rate. Now the rate will be fixed by buyers and sellers. This is an objective economic necessity”, Central Bank Chairman Mamarizo Nurmuratov told at a press conference.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank declared in a statement that it will continue to closely monitor the domestic foreign exchange market and use market mechanisms to mitigate the impact of external shocks and to ensure the balance of key macroeconomic indicators. “In particular, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, coordinated actions will be taken to curb credit and fiscal expansion leading to additional pressure on inflation and the exchange rate”, the statement says.

As part of the measures to further liberalize the foreign exchange market, commercial banks in the country will begin selling foreign currency in cash, which was previously sold only using bank cards. On Tuesday the sum’s official rate fell 3.4% to 9384 sum/$1.