03
December
2017
2017 is shaping up as one of the best years in Georgia’s post-2008 crisis history. The economy is expected to expand by about 5%, beating early expectations and official forecasts by the likes of the IMF and the World Bank. Based on updated GeoStat figures for Q1 and Q2, ISET-PI’s annual growth forecast currently stands at 4.9%. Even that figure is likely to be revised upwards if Q3 growth turns out to be higher than suggested by GeoStat’s preliminary estimate of 4.4%.
30
November
2017
In November 2017, Georgian power plants generated 968 mln. KWh of electricity. This corresponds to a 3% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2017, total generation in November was 998 mln. kWh). The decline in generation on a yearly basis comes from a decline in thermal power generation.
30
November
2017
According to a nationally representative sample of 367 individuals undertaken in early October 2017, ISET’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) added only 0.2 points, rising from -19 in September to -18.8 points in October. A similarly miniscule change was observed in both sub-indices: the Present Situation Index improved by 0.3 (from -24.1 to -23.8), and the Expectations Index by 0.1 index points (from -13.9 to -13.8), compared to September.
29
November
2017
The Georgian Business Confidence Index (BCI)* has increased slightly, reaching 28.0 index points, which is a 1.2 index points gain over the previous quarter. Against weakening expectations, the fourth quarter improvement in the BCI was mostly driven by a notable increase in the Past Performance Index.
27
November
2017
The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in October 2017 was 3.64 GEL, which is 0.2% higher month-on-month (compared to the previous month), and 7.2% higher year-on-year (compared to the same month of the previous year).
