The Azerbaijani economy in the first two months of 2018: Brief Overview

Abstract

CESD – the Center for Economic and Social Development – concluded its macroeconomic survey results for the first two months of 2018. According to the State Statistic Committee of Azerbaijan, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 1.3% in January-February 2018 compared with the same year of previous year: The CESD’ figure for the same period was 0.9%. The GDP totaled 11.5 billion manat ($6.76 billion USD) in the first two months of 2018. The State Statistics Committee announced non-oil GDP increased by 2.3%, while oil GDP remained the same as in January-February 2017. According CESD’s calculations, it was found that there was a 0.2% decline in the oil GDP of Azerbaijan in the first two months of 2018. Meanwhile, major economic indicators in the banking sector worsened during the beginning of 2018. According to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, the credit portfolio of Azerbaijani banks was 11.656 billion manat and the portfolio declined by 30.3% by February 2018 compared to the same month of 2017, when the credit portfolio stood at 16.705 billion manat.