Money transfers increased by 127.1% y/y in Mar-23
Money transfers were up by 127.1% y/y to US$ 438.4mn in Mar-23, after growing by 103.0% y/y in previous month, according to NBG. From major remitting countries, money transfers increased from Russia (+728.0% y/y, accounting for 51.0% of total), followed by Italy (+20.4% y/y, 9.9% of total), USA (+40.4% y/y, 8.2% of total), Greece (+3.3% y/y, 4.5% of total), Israel (+10.5% y/y, 4.3% of total), Germany (+55.2% y/y, 4.0% of total), Kazakhstan (+130.8% y/y, 4.0% of total) and Turkey (+22.1% y/y, 2.3% of total). Overall, in 1Q23 remittances increased by 130.3% y/y to US$ 1.3bn.
Producer price index reduced in Mar-23
Annual PPI for industrial goods reduced by 5.2% in Mar-23, after falling by 1.0% in previous month, according to Geostat. This decline was mainly driven by price reduction in manufacturing (-3.2% y/y) and mining (-22.5% y/y) sectors.
Goods exports surged by 32.9% y/y in Mar-23
In Mar-23, goods exports surged by 32.9% y/y to US$ 546.7mn, after a modest growth of 6.3% y/y in previous month. Similarly, imports also showed a marked increase, soaring by 33.4% y/y to US$ 1.2bn in March, after falling by 4.5% y/y in February. As a result, the trade deficit increased by 33.7% y/y to US$ 688.3mn, after a 12.3% y/y decline in February. Exports and imports figures suggest that both the external and domestic markets are experiencing a robust demand for goods.
The top 5 exported commodities were cars (+683.6% y/y), copper (-45.7% y/y), fertilizers (+86.5% y/y), wine (+74.4% y/y) and spirits (+187.5% y/y) in Mar-23. A 17.9% of exports were directed to the EU (+97.9% y/y), 59.1% to the CIS (+205.7% y/y) and 23.0% to other countries (-51.0% y/y).
The top 5 imports were cars (+82.8% y/y), petroleum (+13.4% y/y), gases (-24.2% y/y), pharmaceuticals (+33.0% y/y) and telephones (+112.0% y/y) in Mar-23.
Overall, in 1Q23, trade deficit increased by 18.2% y/y to US$ 1.9bn, as exports increased by 24.7% y/y to US$ 1.5bn, while imports were up by 21.0% y/y to US$ 3.3bn.
