Exports up by 30.6% y/y in March 2021
In March 2021, exports surged by 30.8% y/y to US$ 325.9mn after a 2.9% growth in previous month. Imports also increased by 17.8% y/y to US$ 768.4mn, recording growth for the first time since March 2020. As a result, trade deficit widened by 9.9% y/y to US$ 442.4mn.
In March 2021, copper (-8.3% y/y), cars (+29.1% y/y), ferro-alloys (+99.4% y/y), wine (+12.8% y/y) and spirits (+41.5% y/y) were the top 5 exported commodities. A 16.9% of exports were directed to the EU (-19.7% y/y), 43.2% to the CIS (+31.7% y/y) and 39.9% to other countries (+75.9% y/y).
Copper (+142.2% y/y), petroleum (+30.7% y/y), cars (-17.2% y/y), gases (+224.8% y/y) and pharmaceuticals (+1.5% y/y), represented the top 5 imported commodities in March 2021.
Overall, in 1Q21, trade deficit was down 7.3% y/y to US$ 1.1bn as exports increased by 5.2% y/y to US$ 821mn and imports decreased by 2.4% y/y to US$ 2.0bn.
Producer price index up 15.5% y/y in March 2021
Annual PPI for industrial goods retreated to 15.5% in March 2021 from 16.9% in previous month, according to Geostat. Price changes in manufacturing (+15.5% y/y) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (+14.1% y/y) contributed the most to the overall index change.
NBG sold US$ 30.0mn
On 22 April 2021, the NBG intervened on the FX market and sold US$ 30.0mn to limit GEL’s depreciation. This was 7th FX intervention YTD for a total sale of US$ 242.9mn through FX auctions
