NBG: Increased fuel prices globally, including in Georgia, serves as main factor of inflation

Annual inflation in August reached 5.6%, up by 0.4% compared to July, according to the report published by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

According to the NBG, increased fuel prices globally, including in Georgia, served as the main factor of inflation rise. On an annual basis, the prices of petrol and diesel have risen by 23% and 40%, respectively, while the overall impact of fuel on inflation amounts to 1.1 percentage points.

Regarding measures of relatively sticky prices, according to the agency, core inflation—which excludes volatile food, energy, and cigarette prices from the consumer basket—stood at 3.6% in August, while services inflation amounted to 4.4%.

The inflation of food products and non-alcoholic beverages amounted to 5.0%. Among other products, the contributions of electricity charges (0.5 p.p.) and healthcare (0.4 p.p.) are noteworthy.

“Regarding inflation for domestically produced goods, according to the National Bank’s report, annual inflation stood at 5.9% in August. Prices of bread, meat, and cheese have the greatest impact on domestic inflation (contributing a total of 2.9 percentage points),” reads the report.