The economic growth of Armenia accelerated in early 2024, according to the report of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). In January-February, the pace of economic activity increased by 13.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.
The main driver of this growth, as noted by EDB analysts, was the industrial sector, which grew by 28.9% year-on-year for January-February, contributing approximately 5.5 percentage points to the overall increase in economic activity.
The contribution of industry, trade, services, and construction to business activity was positive, with growth concentrated in certain sectors.
The growth of industry and trade, which increased by 24.1% year-on-year in January-February, was mainly driven by a significant increase in the processing of precious metals and external trade in gold products, while the dynamics of services, which increased by 5.2% year-on-year in January-February, was associated with an increase in financial activity, which increased by 16.5% year-on-year in January-February.
"The growth of industry continued to accelerate at the beginning of the year, primarily due to the increase in the processing of gold products intended for export. The overall output of the mining industry increased for the first time in the past two years, by 3.9% year-on-year in February," the report says.
However, the dynamics in other key sectors of the industry slowed down after the high indicators of 2022-2023. The increase in the production of jewelry by 11.8 times year-on-year in January-February compensated for the decline and slowdown in other sectors of the industry. The growth in construction, which increased by 10.8% year-on-year in January-February, remained stable against the backdrop of a high level of mortgage lending, which increased by 25.6% year-on-year as of February.
The overall dynamics of consumer lending, which increased by 21.5% year-on-year in February, and the decrease in consumer prices in the country supported domestic demand.
