Annual inflation in Batumi rose to 7.4% in July, a third consecutive monthly increase, while Tbilisi moved the other way and eased to 5.3% from 5.8% in June.
Annual inflation eased to 5.5% in July from 5.8% in June, a decline of 0.3 percentage points that leaves the headline rate close to its May level of 5.7%. The components, however, moved in opposite directions.
Real GDP grew 9.0% in the first quarter of 2026, up 2.3 percentage points from 6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, which in turn followed 6.4% in the third. All of these are Geostat's provisional estimates and are subject to revision.
GDP at current prices reached 104598.1 million GEL in 2025, up 11575.8 million from 93022.3 million in 2024. Measured at constant prices, output rose from 67660.0 million to 72708.5 million GEL — an increase of 5048.5 million. Real GDP growth, annual came to 7.5%, while the GDP deflator, annual stood at 4.6%. All 2025 figures are provisional and are subject to revision by Geostat.
Real GDP grew 9.0% year on year in the first quarter of 2026 on provisional data — 2.3 percentage points faster than the 6.7% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, and above the 6.4% of the third quarter.
Foreign currency accounted for 41.34% of the banking sector's loan book in June, down from 41.65% in May and 41.86% in April — a decline of 0.52 percentage points across the three months shown.
Banks issued 6238.6 million GEL in national-currency loans in June, 1092.9 million more than in May and the third consecutive monthly increase from 4692.8 million in April.
Foreign direct investment reached 1,688,665 thousand US dollars in 2025, on provisional data, up 7.61% over the year. That is the first increase after two consecutive declines, of 13.3% in 2023 and 18.63% in 2024.
Commercial banks' short-term external debt rose to 4,821,560 thousand US dollars in the first quarter of 2026, from 4,369,081 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2025 — an increase of 452,479 thousand and the only rise among the four institutional sectors. Combined short-term external debt of the government sector, the National Bank, commercial banks and other sectors reached 6,631,568 thousand in the first quarter of 2026, against 6,272,748 thousand a quarter earlier, so the whole of the increase sits with the banking sector.
Real wage growth slowed to 3.36% in the first quarter of 2026, from 6.22% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 5.74% in the third — a fall of 2.86 percentage points in a single quarter. Purchasing power is still rising, but at roughly half the pace of six months earlier.
The Russian rouble weakened against the lari in both moves recorded in the window shown: 100 roubles were worth 3.1687 GEL on 11 August, against 3.2024 GEL on 8 August and 3.2281 GEL on 7 August, a cumulative decline of 0.0594 lari. The Armenian dram followed a different path — flat between 7 August (1000 drams = 7.1610 GEL) and 8 August (7.1612 GEL), then down to 7.1287 GEL on 11 August.
The Russian rouble was the largest mover against the lari on 12 August: 100 roubles were worth 3.1846 GEL, up from 3.1687 GEL on 11 August. Even after that rise the rate sits below the 3.2024 GEL of 8 August, so across the three sessions shown the rouble has lost ground against the lari. For households receiving remittances from Russia, the amount converted depends noticeably on the day.
The Russian rouble was the only notable mover against the lari on 8 August: 100 roubles bought 3.2024 GEL, down 0.0257 from 3.2281 a day earlier and 0.0316 below the 3.2340 recorded on 6 August. Over three sessions no other quoted currency moved on anything like that scale.
Read together, the six ratios describe an economy whose flows are strong and whose external buffers are not. The budget balance and real GDP growth sit in the range that needs no management; foreign direct investment, the current account and the net external debt stock occupy the middle band where they should be monitored rather than acted upon; and reserve cover of short-term external debt is the single reading past the danger threshold. That combination points to moderate overall risk concentrated almost entirely in external liquidity rather than in solvency or activity: a change in the terms on which Georgia refinances short-term external obligations would register long before it appeared in the deficit or in output. Both caveats belong with the assessment — the first-quarter national accounts are provisional and subject to revision, and this profile carries one observation per ratio, so it reports levels rather than trends.
Annual inflation eased to 5.5% in July from 5.8% in June, and it now sits below May's 5.7% as well.
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