Inflation was 3.8% y/y and 0.8% m/m in October 2020
Annual CPI inflation remained unchanged at 3.8% in October 2020, according to Geostat. Core inflation (non-food, non-energy) was 5.4% in October 2020, while core inflation excluding tobacco was 5.0%. Annual price changes were driven by price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages (+5.5% y/y, +1.74ppts) and health (+9.0% y/y, +0.73ppts) categories and price drop in transport (-6.0% y/y, -0.74ppts) category. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.8% in October 2020.
International reserves at US$ 3.8bn in October 2020
Gross international reserves increased by 11.5% y/y to US$ 3.8bn in October 2020 according to NBG. On a monthly basis, the reserves were up by 0.3% (+US$ 12.6mn). Growth in reserves was attributed to the disbursement of donor funds to the budget, fully compensating FX sales totaling US$ 200mn by NBG in October 2020.
NBG sold US$ 60mn
On 2 November 2020, the NBG intervened on the FX market and sold US$ 60mn to limit GEL volatility. This was 21st FX intervention YTD for a total sale of US$ 709.7mn through FX auctions.
