BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 1
By Maryana Akhmedova – Trend:
Georgia’s real GDP in September 2021 increased by 6.9 percent year-on-year, which is less than the figure for August, Trend reports, citing Galt & Taggart Investment Bank’s review.
Meanwhile, Georgian real GDP as of September 2021 was also up by 6.1 percent compared to September 2019 level.
According to the review, Georgia’s GDP growth over first 9 months of 2021 is estimated at 11.3 percent year-on-year, surpassing the same period of 2019 level by 4.8 percent.
Georgia’s economic activity in September 2021 was up in all sectors, except the construction sector, the report said.
According to Galt & Taggart, Georgian economic growth in September 2021 was stimulated by the government spending, robust credit growth, strong remittances and ongoing recovery in tourism.
Furthermore, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) kept the monetary policy rate unchanged at 10 percent, after raising it by 50 basis points in August 2021.
The increased inflation remains a challenge for Georgia, as consumer prices increased by 12.3 percent in September 2021, and expected to remain high through February 2022, the report said.
“The regulator sees that key sources of high inflation being one-off factors, such as significant increases in prices of food and oil on international markets and the rapid growth of international transportation costs, noting also pend-up demand and a high lending growth,” Galt & Taggart said.
According to the report, the NBG also stressed positive developments and revised the 2021 growth projection upwards – from 8.5 percent to 10 percent.
Inflation is expected to decline from spring 2022, supported by tight monetary policy and fiscal consolidation along with the fade-out of one-off exogenous factors, the report said.
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