GeoStat: Annual Inflation Rate at 4.1%

The newest data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat) indicates that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in April 2019 and the annual inflation rate currently stands at 4.1%.

The monthly inflation rate was primarily influenced by prices changes in the following commodities: food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; and restaurants and hotels.

The price of vegetables increased by 5.6%, fruits by 5.0% and meat by 1.0%, while the prices decreased by 3.8% for dairy products. Clothing prices increased by 1.7%, and footwear by 1.1%. Prices in restaurants and hotels increased by 0.7%.

The data also measured the annual percentage changes in prices for commodities. Out of 12 commodity groups included in the data, only two groups (clothing/footwear and communication) saw their prices fall between April 2018 and April 2019.

The most significant change was prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which have increased by 21.1% since last April. Recreation and culture increased by 7.2%, and food and non-alcoholic beverages by 5.9%, the other two most significant percent increases.

The combined percentage changes for food and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages and tobacco contributed 3.2 percentage points to the overall annual inflation rate.

The target inflation rate set by the National Bank of Georgia is 3% during 2019-2021.

The highest annual inflation rate over the past two years was measured at 7.1%, in June 2017, according to the GeoStat data.

By Lucy Papachristou

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