BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
The decline in Azerbaijan's GDP in January 2021 significantly slowed down compared to the period of November through December 2020, Gulnara Khaidarshina, deputy head of the Department for Market Analysis at Russian Gazprombank, told Trend.
According to Khaidarshina, the economic recovery was supported by the non-oil sector, which returned to growth, increasing by 0.1 percent. This was due to loosened restrictive measures in January and the return of the economy to a stable regime.
"It’s important to note that such a rapid recovery in the non-oil sector was also facilitated by measures for its development, its fiscal support during the COVID-19 pandemic and favorable monetary conditions provided by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan," she said.
The bank representative also stressed that the recovery trend in the non-oil sector will intensify starting from the second quarter of 2021, when the ‘high base’ effect of the first quarter of 2020 will be completely exhausted.
Khaidarshina forecasted Azerbaijani economy’s return to growth this year, given the excess of the average price of Brent crude oil over $50 per barrel during the year, the launch of the TAP pipeline amid recovery in global demand for hydrocarbons, and also the effect of the new fiscal stimulus in the amount of 2.2 billion manat ($1.3 billion) for establishing and restoring infrastructure in the Azerbaijani territories liberated from the Armenian occupation (during the 44-day war in 2020).
"Thus, the growth of the economy of Azerbaijan during the year may be at least 4.1 percent," she summed up.
According to preliminary data from the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, the country's GDP in January 2021 decreased by 2.5 percent, to over 6.2 billion manat ($3.6 billion).
(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Feb.15)
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