May 2022: annual inflation rate at 13.3%

The Consumer Price Index in Georgia increased by 1.1 percent in May 2022 month-on-month, while the annual inflation rate equaled 13.3 percent, the National Statistics Office of Georgia announced on Friday. 

The agency also revealed prices had increased by 5.9 percent in annual core inflation figures, excluding food and non-alcoholic beverages, energy, regulated tariffs and transport, while the annual core inflation without tobacco amounted to 6.7 percent.

The monthly inflation rate was mostly influenced by price changes in the following groups:

• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+6.2%) 
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.8%)
• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+1.3%)

As for the annual inflation rate, it was mainly influenced by price changes in the following groups:

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+22%)
• Transport (+20%)
• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+16.1%)

Image: Geostat

The following subgroups of food and non-alcoholic beverages posted the higher prices in May:

• Fruit and grapes (+13%)
• Bread and cereals (+4.8%)
• Fish (+1.8%) 
• Oils and fats (+1.6)
• Mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices (+1.2%)

In the reported month, a 4.5 percent reduction was observed in the prices of milk, cheese and eggs, Geostat said.

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The National Bank of Georgia, which left the refinancing rate unchanged at 11 percent in May, said inflation would remain high over the course of the year, before starting to decline "as last year’s one-off effects are phased-out and given the monetary policy remains tight." 

Georgia’s estimated Gross Domestic Product increased by 2.6 percent in April 2022 compared to the same period last year, while the average real GDP growth between January-April of 2022 totalled 10.8 percent.