Bank lending increased by 17.1% y/y in Dec-23
In Dec-23, the banking sector loan portfolio increased by 17.1% y/y (+3.1% m/m), excluding FX effect, after a 16.3% y/y growth in previous month. In unadjusted terms, loan portfolio rose by 17.6% y/y (+2.9% m/m), reaching GEL 52.7bn (US$ 19.6bn), after growing 17.3% y/y in November. By sector, corporate loans increased by 19.8% y/y (exc. FX effect) in December and retail loans were up 14.8% y/y. Loan dollarization stood at 45.2% (+0.28ppts y/y and -0.26ppts m/m) in Dec-23.
Bank deposits increased by 14.1% y/y (exc. FX effect) to GEL 50.6bn (US$ 18.8bn) in Dec-23, after growing by 17.8% y/y in previous month. In terms of currency breakdown, GEL deposits increased by 28.2% y/y and FX deposits growth (exc. FX effect) stood at 3.1% y/y. As a result, the level of deposit dollarization came in at 50.7% (-5.36ppts y/y and -0.03ppts m/m) in Dec-23.
Producer price index reduced by 1.3% y/y in Dec-23
Annual PPI for industrial goods decreased by 1.3% y/y in Dec-23, after falling by 0.2% y/y in previous month, according to Geostat. The annual decrease in the PPI index was mainly driven by a reduction in prices in the manufacturing sector (-1.6% y/y).
Goods trade deficit narrowed by 13.6% y/y in Dec-23
In Dec-23, goods exports declined by 7.5% y/y to US$ 514.2mn, due to the last year’s high base effect, after falling 1.8% y/y in previous month. Similarly, goods imports also contracted by 11.3% y/y, reaching US$ 1.3bn in December, following a 6.8% y/y reduction in November. This led to a 13.6% y/y narrowing of the trade deficit, totaling to US$ 789.5mn.
The top 5 exported commodities were cars (+27.4% y/y), ferro-alloys (+550.8% y/y), citrus fruit (+124.4% y/y), spirits (+37.8% y/y) and wine (-6.4% y/y) in Dec-23. A 6.9% of exports were directed to the EU (-44.8% y/y), 68.8% to the CIS (+9.7% y/y) and 24.4% to other countries (-26.1% y/y).
The top 5 imports were cars (-22.6% y/y), petroleum (+12.9% y/y), gases (-33.4% y/y), pharmaceuticals (+21.8% y/y) and phones (-27.7% y/y) in Dec-23.
Overall, in 2023, goods exports and imports reached record-high levels. Exports increased by 9.1% y/y, reaching US$ 6.1bn, while imports were up by 14.0% y/y to US$ 15.4bn. Consequently, the trade deficit expanded by 17.4% y/y to US$ 9.3bn.
