YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/.  Prices declined in March by 1.2 percent (yoy), WB says in its Armenia Monthly Economic Update – April 2024».

This was driven by a 5.6 percent (yoy) drop in food prices. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) continued with the gradual easing of the monetary stance, reducing the policy rate by 25 basis points (to 8.5 percent) in its March 12 Board session.

Export growth continued to soar due to robust exports of gold and jewelry. Exports of goods soared to 191.3 percent (yoy) in February 2024 driven by a 9- fold increase in exports of precious and semi-precious stones, mostly due to exports of gold, jewelry, and parts containing precious stones. The share of export of precious and semi-precious stones in total exports rose from 25 percent in February 2023 to 75 percent in February 2024.

This extraordinary growth could be the result of several factors, including increases in production of jewelry as well as re-exports due to geopolitical factors.

Exports of minerals (including copper) and textile products also grew by 72 and 134 percent, respectively, and contributed 11 percentage points to total growth.

The export of remaining commodity groups either contracted or marginally contributed to export growth. Of total exports in January-February, 46.6 percent were destined to the UAE, and these were mostly exports of precious and semi-precious stones.

The share of export to Russia more than halved to 20 percent in January-February 2024 from 51 percent in the same period last year.

On the other hand, Russia remained the main source of imports (58 percent share), which grew in February by 80 percent (yoy). This was mostly driven by growth in the import of precious and semi-precious stones. The net export of this commodity group in February was USD 400 million.-0-