ArmInfo. In Armenia, the industrial price index increased in January-February 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, rising from 100.8% to 102.2%. This increase occurred amidst a worsening annual trend in the industrial sector, which shifted from a 28.9% growth to a 19.4% decline, with a total volume of 380.5 billion drams ($959 million), as evidenced by preliminary data from the RA Statistical Committee.
According to statistics, in February 2025, the industrial price index increased from 99.4% to 101.6% compared to February 2024, During this period, the industrial sector experienced a more significant decline in volumes by 26.6%, whereas a year ago there was a notable increase of 36.4%. It is important to note that inflation was observed in the consumer market of Armenia during the periods under review. Particularly, in January-February 2025, inflation was 2.1% compared to the same period in 2024, and in February 2025 compared to February 2024, inflation was 2.5%. This is in contrast to the deflation of 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively, recorded in the same periods a year ago. Moreover, inflation in the consumer market was primarily driven by an increase in food prices. In January-February 2025, food prices increased by 3.6%, compared to the same period in 2024, and in February 2025 compared to February 2024, food prices increased by 4.6%. A year earlier, there was a decline in food prices during the same periods - by 5.2% and 5.9%, respectively.
It is worth noting that there has been a slowdown in the growth of economic activity in Armenia in January-February 2025, decreasing from 13.6% to 4.1% per annum. In February 2025 compared to February 2024 there was a decrease from 16.3% to 1.5%. Additionally, there has been a deterioration in the annual dynamics of foreign trade turnover in January-February 2025, with a decline of 52% compared to a 2-fold growth in the same period of 2024. This decline is a result of both exports decreasing by 59.7%, and imports - by 45.8% (compared to a significant growth in both exports and imports a year ago by 2.6 times and 73.2%, respectively). In February 2025, compared to February 2024, the volume of foreign trade fell by 61% due to a decrease in both exports by 67.7% and imports by 55.2%. In February 2024, compared to February 2023, foreign trade turnover showed a significant increase of 2.2 times due to a jump in exports by 2.9 times and imports by 79.9%. (The average exchange rate of the dram in January-February 2025 was AMD 396.74/$1).
