National Bank: inflation hits 1.8%, loans up by 17.8%, goods import decreased by 9.6%, int’l reserves at $4.6 bln

The National Bank of Georgia on Monday 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 inflation amounted to 1.8 percent in July, but remained below the target rate. Prices decreased by 0.4 percent compared to June, while base inflation, excluding highly volatile items, amounted to 1.1 percent.

Banking sector

Loans grew by 17.8 percent year-on-year in June, the central bank said. Dollarisation of deposits amounted to 49.1 percent, while dollarisation of the total credit portfolio decreased by 0.6 percent to 45.2 percent.

Foreign sector

The NBG also said imports of goods decreased by 9.6 percent year-on-year, mainly driven by a decrease in import of consumer goods. However, registered export of goods increased by 5.8 percent year-on-year in June, with the rise caused by an increase in the export of consumer goods.

The official international reserves decreased by $19.0 million compared to the previous month, totalling $4.6 billion in June.