According to data from the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), annual inflation in April stood at 5.9%, whilst the overall price level rose by 1.7% compared with March.

The NBG reports that international oil prices have surged sharply amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to transportation. Consequently, fuel prices have been rising both globally and in Georgia, putting additional upward pressure on inflation. As regards the more rigid measures of price change, core inflation, which excludes volatile food, energy, and tobacco prices from the consumer basket, stood at 3.2% in April, whilst services inflation accelerated to 3.7%.

“In April, fuel prices continued to rise compared with the previous month. Petrol and diesel became more expensive by an average of 9% and 17% respectively, and the combined contribution of these two products to monthly inflation amounted to 0.48 percentage points. Similarly, every month, the increase in electricity charges is also feeding through into higher inflation, contributing 0.48 percentage points.

Food continues to exert a significant upward influence on inflation annually. In April, food inflation stood at 8.1%, contributing 2.4 percentage points to the overall inflation rate. Of this, the greatest individual impact came from bread and beef, each contributing 0.5 percentage points. Also noteworthy among other products were the contributions of gold rings (0.3 pp), cigarettes (0.3 pp), and the healthcare group (0.4 pp). The most significant downward pressure on inflation came from falling prices of household appliances — price reductions for televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and computers collectively reduced inflation by 0.3 pp,” the National Bank’s report states.

The National Bank further notes that, concerning inflation in locally produced goods, annual inflation in April likewise stood at 5.9%.

“The greatest influence on the rise in domestic inflation comes from the prices of bread, meat, and cheese, which together account for 3.1 percentage points. Inflation in mixed-origin products rose to 8.3%, driven primarily by the increase in electricity prices (1.8 pp). In addition, gold rings, tomatoes, chocolate, and cooking oil make a substantial combined contribution to mixed inflation, totalling 3.1 pp. Inflation in imported goods rose to 3.6%, with fuel prices being the principal cause, accounting for 3.3 pp,” the National Bank states.