Details added (first version posted at 12:06)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) expects to achieve inflation close to single-digit level by late 2017, CBA Chairman Elman Rustamov told reporters in Baku.
“Now, the process of adaptation of the price level [in consumer markets] is going very slowly. This is due to various factors, mainly non-monetary ones. I would say that this is due to external factors – imports and rising prices in the world food market. After a certain transformation [in the economy] that occurred in Azerbaijan, expectations do not subside immediately,” he said.
Rustamov noted that the Central Bank hopes for no surge in prices in the near future.
“If this does not happen, we hope that inflation will be close to a single-digit figure. A surge in inflation was observed in the beginning of the year, which affects the average annual inflation. You remember what expectations there were due to the transition to a floating exchange rate of manat,” he said.
Rustamov added that the Central Bank sees no fundamental internal factors for growth of inflation.
According to the State Statistics Committee, prices for consumer goods and tariffs for services in Azerbaijan increased by 14 percent in January-August 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.
During the reporting period, prices for food products rose by 18.2 percent, non-food products – by 12.6 percent and the cost of paid services rendered to the population increased by 9.6 percent.