Azerbaijan's January 2024 Inflation Sees Marginal Increase in Prices

In Azerbaijan, the State Statistics Committee recently released data indicating a slight uptick in inflation for January 2024. According to the report, inflation stood at 0.5% for the month, remaining consistent with the rate recorded in December 2023.

Breaking down the numbers further reveals interesting trends in various sectors. In January, prices for food, beverages, and tobacco experienced a modest increase of 1.1%. Non-food products saw a marginal rise of 0.1%, while services remained unchanged.

Comparing January 2024 to the same month in the previous year, inflation rose by 1.7%. This increase was primarily driven by hikes in prices across different categories. Food products saw a moderate uptick of 0.7%, non-food products surged by 1.7%, and services experienced a significant increase of 3.2%.

Despite the overall inflationary trend, certain items witnessed a decline in prices. Bread, bakery products, cereals, butter, and vegetable oils experienced a slight reduction in prices. Notably, meat and meat products, as well as tea, coffee, and cocoa, maintained stable prices with zero inflation.

Conversely, the report highlighted notable price hikes in several categories. Fish and fish products saw a notable increase of 1.2%, while dairy products, eggs, fruits, and vegetables also experienced price surges. Additionally, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, sweets, mineral and soft drinks, juices, tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages all recorded price increases during the month.

In Baku, the country's capital, the average price of a consumer basket comprising 30 basic food products of domestic production, as compiled by the Turan agency, increased by 1% in January 2024.

The broader picture of inflation in Azerbaijan also shows a positive trend. The average annual inflation rate for the entirety of 2023 slowed to 8.8% compared to 13.9% at the end of 2022. This deceleration indicates some level of stabilization in the economy. Notably, the average annual increase in prices for food products, non-food products, and services stood at 9.6%, 8.4%, and 8.2%, respectively.