ArmInfo.In Armenia, the industrial price index increased to 103.6% in January-December 2024 from 101.5% in the same period of 2023. This increase was observed against the backdrop of a modest acceleration in the annual growth of industrial sector volumes, rising from 4.1% to 4.7%, with a total volume of 2.998 trillion drams ($7.6 billion). This is evidenced by preliminary data from the RA Statistical Committee.
According to the statistics, in December 2023, compared to December 2022, the industrial price index saw an increase and amounted to 105.7%, while a year earlier in December 2023 compared to December 2022, a decline to 99.9% was recorded. During the period under review, the industrial sector experienced a 14.8% decline in volumes, compared to a double-digit growth of 20% was recorded a year earlier. It is noteworthy that inflation in the consumer market of Armenia decreased significantly during these periods. In particular, from January to December 2024, annual inflation dropped from 2% to 0.3%. In December 2024, compared to December 2023, inflation was at 1.5% (compared to a deflationary 0.6% a year earlier). Moreover, this decrease in inflation was mainly driven by the food market. Food prices in January-December 2024 decreased by 1.2% compared to the same period in 2023, and in December 2024 compared to December 2023 they increased by 2.2%, In contrast, food prices in January-December 2023 only increased by 0.4% per annum, and in December 2023, they decreased by 3.5% per annum. At the same time, tariffs for services showed slow recovery from growth.
It is worth noting that there was a slowdown in economic activity growth in Armenia from 9.4% to 8% per annum in January-December 2024, and in December 2024 compared to December 2023, it decreased from 9.5% to 4.7%. During the same period, the annual growth of foreign trade turnover also slowed down slightly to 41.5% from 46% in 2023, due to a restrained slowdown in the growth of exports and imports from 55.3-40.2% to 53.1-33.8%. However, in December 2024, compared to December 2023, the dynamics of foreign trade significantly worsened, with a decrease from 72% growth to a 37.3% decline, as a result of reductions in both exports and imports by 48.6% and 26.5%, respectively, (compared to a 2.4-fold increase in exports and 33.2% in imports in 2023). (The average settlement exchange rate of the dram in January- December 2024 was AMD392.73/$1).
