In August 2019, Georgian power plants generated 1,020 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 3.6% increase in total generation, compared to the previous year (in August 2018, the total generation was 985 mln. kWh). The increase in generation on a yearly basis comes from the increase in wind (+9%) and hydro power generation (+6%), more than offsetting the decrease in thermal power generation (-8%).

BCI in the third quarter of 2019 has deteriorated, dropping to 8.3 index points, which is 18.7 index points below the previous quarter. The largest reduction in BCI was observed in retail trade followed by the financial and construction industries. In these sectors, the decrease in BCI is driven by both decline in past performance and reduced expectations. On the contrary, agriculture is the sole industry where BCI increased.

In July 2019, Georgian power plants generated 1,055 mln. kWh of electricity (Figure 1). This represents a 16.8% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in July 2018, the total generation was 1,268 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease in thermal (-52%) and hydro power generation (-17%), more than offsetting the increase in wind power generation (+11%).

A nationally representative sample of 359 Georgians, interviewed in early June 2019, reveals that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) improved by nearly 1 index point, from -16.5 in May to -15.9 in June. A similar pattern was observed in the Present Situation Index, which increased by 1.8 index points (from -19.5 to -17.7). The Expectations Index however remained unchanged at -13.6.

ISET-PI’s growth projections for the second and third quarters of 2019 were revised upward by less than 0.1 percentage points. They now stand at 4.8% and 7.5% respectively. Geostat has increased the estimate of the average real GDP growth for the first quarter of 2019 to 4.9% (by around 0.2 percentage points).