The decline in inflation will begin in February

According to the head of the National Bank of Georgia, Koba Gvenetadze, inflation will begin to decline in February, and it should approach the target in the second half of the year.

As Gvenetadze told reporters in response to a question about inflation, if inflation grows into expectations, then this can create a spiral of inflation and wages, which, of course, will not be good.

“When we analyze the factors influencing inflation, of course, we pay attention and include in our analysis the available information on wages, because this is also part of the demand to a certain extent. This is important to take into account, because if inflation grows into expectations, then this can create a spiral of inflation and wages, which, of course, will not be good. Generally speaking, we expect inflation to remain at the same level as it is now, including January, with a noticeable decline in February, all other things being equal. The prerequisites and contributory factors for this are that monetary policy remains tight, while at the same time we have taken macroprudential measures. At the same time, we see that there is a decline in indices on world commodity markets, and this should affect Georgia. At the same time, the lari exchange rate is stable, which also has its own conditions, tourism also recovered quite quickly, and the arrival of migrants also had an impact. I think these circumstances determine that inflation will start to decrease from February, other things being equal, and approaching the target should occur in the second half of the year,” Gvenetadze said.