11.3% Inflation Reported

Annual inflation rate as of end June increased to 11.3% from 11.2% at the end May, according to the Georgian Statistics Department.

Transport costs rose an annual 23.2% as of end June, against an advance of 18.2% in the previous month and healthcare costs went up 16.1%, following a rise of 12.2% in May. Prices for alcohol and tobacco dropped an annual 1.6%.

The NBG’s Monetary Policy Committee decided on June 25 to keep its key interest rate at 12%. The NBG has raised its benchmark one-week certificate of deposit rate by a total of 5 percentage points since last November to 12% in an effort to slow inflation.