Tuesday, November 26 2019 16:27

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the growth of economic activity in January-October 2019 accelerated to 7.1% from 6% for 10 months of 2018, and the main drivers were the  services sector, trade and the industrial sector. According to  preliminary data of the Statistical Committee of the Republic of  Armenia, in October 2019 alone a 4.7% decline was recorded with a  y-o-y growth of 7.7%, while in 2018 the October decline was 5% with a  y-o-y growth of 3%.

The growth of economic activity in January-October 2019 was largely  supported by the services sector - by 15.1% per annum, and to a  slightly lesser extent by trade and the industrial sector - by 8.9%  and 8.8%, respectively, while in the construction sector the growth  slowed down up to 4.5%. The energy complex was in decline - by 2.7%.  For the agricultural sector, only quarterly data are published. A  year earlier, in January-October 2018, services, trade, construction,  industrial sectors and the energy sector showed growth - 18.5%, 9.6%,  6.5%, 4.5% and 1.8%, and the agricultural sector was in decline -  8.9%.

The industrial production price index increased in January-October  2019 compared to the same period in 2018 by 0.5%, in October 2019  compared to October 2018 it was the same (0.5%), and  in October 2019  alone it decreased by 0.9% . A year earlier, in January-October 2018,  against the same period in 2017, the industrial production price  index increased by 2%, in October 2018 compared with October 2017 it  decreased by 0.7%, and in October 2018 alone it increased by 1.6%.

In monthly terms (in October 2019), the sectors that showed growth  were the industrial sector - 8.8%, the construction sector - 2% and  the services sector - 0.4%, and trade and the energy sector were in  decline - 1.7% and 6.2% respectively. A year earlier, in October  2018, the energy complex - 11.1%, industry - 11%, the services sector  - 2.8%, the construction sector - 1.7%, and the agricultural sector  and trade were in the negative trend - 7.8% and 4.4%, respectively.

In y-o-y terms (October 2019 versus October 2018), the highest growth  was recorded in the services and trade sectors - 12.4% and 10.2%,  respectively, followed by the construction sector - 5.1% and the  industrial sector - 2.7%, and the energy complex showed a decline of  7.7%. A year earlier, in October 2018 compared to October 2017,  growth was recorded in the services sector - 16.6%, energy sector -  15%, industrial sector - 8.1%, trade - 5.8%, construction sector -  0.4%, and in the agricultural sector was a decline of 22.1%.   According to statistical data, in January-October 2019, the trading  sector with the volume of 2.6 trillion drams ($ 5.3 billion) holds  leadership in absolute terms. The industrial sector returned to the  second position - 1.6 trillion ($ 3.4 billion), displacing the  services sector - 1.4 trillion drams ($ 2.99 billion) in third place.  The construction sector is on the fourth place, due to the lack of  data on the agricultural sector- 296.3 billion drams ($ 616 million).  The volume of electricity generation in January-October 2019 amounted  to 6253.6 million kWh, of which 603.0 million kWh - in October alone.

At the same time, the foreign trade turnover of Armenia in  January-October 2019 amounted to 3083.6 billion drams ($ 6417.9  million) with a y-o-y growth of 6.5%. In its structure, the volume of  exports underwent an annual growth of 7.2% to 1,030.6 billion drams  ($ 2,145.1 million), while imports - an annual growth of 6.2% to  2,053 billion drams ($ 4,272.8 million). In October 2019, by October  2018, the foreign trade turnover of Armenia increased by 11% due to  an increase in imports by 15.8% with an increase in exports by 1.3%.  A year earlier, in January-October 2018, foreign trade turnover  increased by 20.7% per annum due to an increase in exports by 11.7%  and imports by 25.8%, and in October 2018 compared to October 2017,  an increase in foreign trade turnover by 11.4% was triggered by an  increase in exports by 12.1% and imports by 11%.  The average  settlement rate of the dram in October 2019 amounted to 476.3 dr / $  1, and in January- October 2019 - 481 dr / $ 1, against 484.93 dr / $  1 - in October 2018 and 482.49 dr / $ 1 - in January- October 2018.