National Bank: inflation hits 2%, loans up by 18.4%, goods import up by 11.3%, int’l reserves at $4.8bln

The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday provided an update of the current situation and macroeconomic indicators in the banking and financial sectors of the country by releasing updated figures in inflation, import and other data.

Inflation

The Bank said annual inflation increased to two percent in May, up from the previous months but still below the three percent target rate. Prices also increased by 0.4 percent compared to April, mainly due to “higher fuel and some food prices”. Base inflation, excluding volatile items, decreased to 1.7 percent.

Banking sector

Loans grew by 18.4 percent year-on-year in April, the central bank said. The dollarisation of deposits decreased to 48.3 percent, while the dollarisation of the total credit portfolio remained at 44.7 percent.

Foreign sector

The NBG said imports of goods increased by 11.3 percent year-on-year, mainly driven by investment and consumer goods. However, the registered export of goods decreased by 12.7 percent year-on-year in April, with a decrease in the export of intermediate, consumer and investment goods.

The official international reserves increased by $37.4 million compared to the previous month, totalling $4.8 billion in April.