Trade deficit down 11.5% y/y in 2015, excluding one-offs
In December 2015, imports decreased 16.0% y/y to US$ 724mn (excluding donated C-hepatitis medicine imports), while exports were down 21.0% y/y to US$ 184mn, and trade deficit narrowed 14.1% y/y to US$ 540mn, according to GeoStat’s preliminary figures.
Overall in 2015, exports decreased 23.0% y/y to US$ 2.2bn, imports were down 15.3% y/y to US$ 7.3bn (excluding one-offs), and trade deficit contracted 11.5% y/y to US$ 5.1bn. Therefore, the adjustment in imports, resulting in US$ 1.3bn savings, fully compensated for lower exports earnings (-US$ 0.7bn in 2015), easing the pressure on GEL. Detailed foreign trade statistics will be available on January 20, 2016. 

Money transfers down 12.2% y/y in Dec-2015 and down 25.0% y/y in 2015
In December 2015, money transfers decreased 12.2% y/y to US$ 102.0mn. Overall in 2015, money transfers declined 25.0% y/y to US$ 1.08bn, according to NBG. Significantly reduced remittances from Russia (-39.0% y/y, 40.1% of total) and Greece (-42.5% y/y, 10.9% of total) were the major contributors to the drop in total money transfers in 2015. Meanwhile, remittances posted growth from USA (+21.9% y/y, 9.3% of total), Turkey (+7.2% y/y, 6.4% of total), Israel (+39.2% y/y, 3.0% of total), and Germany (+10.1% y/y, 2.5% of total).

Producer price index down 0.9% m/m and up 4.7% y/y in December 2015
PPI for industrial goods decreased 0.9% m/m in December 2015, according to GeoStat. A 1.0% decrease in manufacturing prices contributed the most to the overall index decline. In this category, prices were down for the manufacture of chemical products (-13.3% m/m) and basic and fabricated metals (-5.2% m/m), while prices were up for manufacture of food, beverages, and tobacco (+2.3% m/m). 
Annual PPI retreated to 4.7% in December 2015 compared to 8.2% in November, with manufacturing prices increasing 3.5% y/y and contributing +2.89ppts to the overall index change  (prices were up for the manufacture of food, beverages, and tobacco, and paper and publishing; down for basic and fabricated metals). Prices were also up 15.2% y/y in the electricity, gas, and water supply category, contributing 2.08ppts to the overall index change.  

NBG sold US$ 20mn
NBG sold US$ 20mn on the FX market to support the GEL on January 12, 2016. It was NBG’s first intervention this year, leading the GEL to strengthen 0.2% d/d against the US$ on January 13, 2016.