YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Candidate for the position of deputy governor of the Central Bank Hovhannes Khachatryan, who is also a member of the CBA Board, assures that inflation in Armenia will be manageable during 2022 and will gradually decline within the year, coming to the targeted range.

During the parliament session today MP from the opposition Armenia faction Tadevos Avetisyan recalled the official statistics according to which the consumer price index in 2021 January-December increased by 7.2% compared to 2020, and it increased further in December 2021 compared to December 2020. “This is in case when the exchange rate by 6.5% in December 2021 compared to December 2020, in other words, the exchange rate declined, but the consumer price index increased”, the lawmaker said and was interested in the factors.

In response Mr Khachatryan said that the 7.2% average inflation is for the whole year. “By having a little fluctuation in the currency market both against the dollar and other currencies, we have again been appreciated after depreciation almost on the same levels, even a little more than we had during the pre-crisis period. This component doesn’t exist in the inflation”, he said.

According to him, inflation is more contributed by the increase in prices of good and energy from the outside world. As for the domestic reasons of inflation, he stated: “We had a cut in economic potential as a result of the pandemic, the war, the sharp increase in mortality rate among the population and many other factors. When the economic potential is cut, inflation takes place sooner under the same demand, as a result of which we went out of the regime of expansionary fiscal policy”.