Inflation was 2.7% y/y and 0.3% m/m in September 2018
Annual CPI inflation was 2.7% in September 2018 down from 3.1% in August 2018, according to GeoStat. Core inflation was 1.7% up from 1.5% recorded in previous month. Annual price changes were driven by price increases in transport (+6.2% y/y, +0.83ppts), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.8% y/y, +0.55ppts) and healthcare (+5.7% y/y, +0.48ppts) categories. On a monthly basis, there was 0.3% inflation in September 2018. Price increase in education (+3.7% m/m, +0.17ppts) and housing, water, electricity and gas (+1.0% m/m, +0.09ppts) were the major drivers of monthly inflation dynamics.
Tourist arrivals up 9.1% y/y in September 2018
Total international visits to Georgia increased 5.7% y/y to 0.76mn in September 2018, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A 9.1% y/y growth in tourist arrivals (0.54mn trips, 70.2% of total) drove the growth. Out of top countries, in September 2018, international visitors continued to increase from Russia (+27.8% y/y) and Azerbaijan (+9.8% y/y), while visitors were down from Armenia (-1.3% y/y), Turkey (-9.1% y/y) and Iran (-41.6% y/y). Total international visitors stood at 5.6mn (+12.9% y/y) in 9M18.
International reserves stood at US$ 3.2bn in September 2018
Gross international reserves were up 4.2% y/y and up 8.2% m/m to US$ 3.2bn in September 2018, according to NBG. Growth in reserves was attributed to FX auctions (total purchase of US$ 25mn in September), government FX operations and/or asset revaluation.
