The National Bank of Georgia published its monthly macroeconomic review, reporting that annual inflation reached 5.6% in September, while official international reserves exceeded a record USD 8.1 billion in August. Lending growth remained strong, and merchandise exports grew substantially faster than imports. Consumer prices rose 0.4% from August, while core inflation was 3.5% and services inflation was 3.7%. Excluding exchange rate effects, annual loan growth accelerated by 0.2 percentage points to 14.8% in August. Deposit dollarization increased by 0.1 percentage points to 43.2% in July, while 41.2% of the total loan portfolio was dollarized in August. Merchandise exports rose 24.7% year over year to USD 752.4 million in August, with growth across all end use categories. Imports increased 4.3% to USD 1.6 billion, driven mainly by intermediate goods. Official international reserves grew by USD 613 million from the previous month.
National Bank of Georgia reports 5.6% inflation and record international reserves above USD 8.1 billion
The National Bank of Georgia reported annual inflation of 5.6% in September, with core inflation at 3.5%. Annual loan growth reached 14.8% in August, while merchandise exports rose 24.7%. Official international reserves increased by USD 613 million to a record level above USD 8.1 billion.