The Business Activity Index (BAI) stood at 1206 points in March 2026, rising by 20.6% compared to the previous month and by 22.7% year-on-year.
At the component level, the following changes were observed in March. The component reflecting the number of transactions on business entities’ bank accounts increased by 4.3%. The intensity of raw material purchases on the commodity exchange rose by 46.2%. The component reflecting the number of active business entities grew by 3.8%, while the trademark component declined by 8.1%.
In addition, growth in the BAI compared to the previous month was recorded across all regions of the country. The most notable increases were observed in Andijan region (47.8%), Surkhandarya (43.7%), Khorezm (42.3%), and Samarkand (41.8%).
During the reporting period, the number of interbank payment transactions reached 7,052.5 thousand, increasing by 292.2 thousand transactions, or 4.3%, compared to February 2026.
An increase in interbank transactions was recorded in 13 regions. In particular, a significant rise in transactions between legal entities was observed in Andijan region (by 13.5%), Fergana (by 8.2%), Syrdarya (by 6.9%), and Surkhandarya (by 5.5%), while in the Republic of Karakalpakstan this indicator declined by 1.1%.
In March, the exchange component of the BAI amounted to 1.4621 points, increasing by 46.2% compared to the previous month. The number of concluded deals increased 2.1 times, while the average volume of goods purchased per transaction decreased by 14.6%.
The total turnover of 34 key commodities on the Republican Commodity Exchange reached 7,460 billion UZS, marking an 18.5% increase compared to the previous month. The main driver of this growth was a sharp rise in trading volumes, including nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers (93.1 times), rebar (6.5 times), ferrous metal products (4 times), and polypropylene (3.4 times).
The component reflecting the number of active business entities reached 1.0382 points, increasing by 3.8% compared to the previous month. The total number of active business entities rose by 2,557 to reach 511 thousand. The number of large enterprises increased by 558 to 4,719, while the number of small enterprises grew by 2.2 thousand to 417.3 thousand. At the same time, the number of farms declined by 185 to 89.1 thousand.
The trademark component stood at 0.9186 points, decreasing by 8.1% compared to the previous month. During the reporting period, 395 trademarks and product names were registered by legal entities.
Islombek Saparmatov, CERR
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