ArmInfo. Demand in Armenia has expanded significantly, bringing with it inflationary risks. This was stated by Martyn Galstyan, Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, during a press conference on September 15.
At a certain point, he noted, it became noticeable that Armenia was seeing an increasing number of visitors who were staying longer, thereby creating demand.
"Now the question is what kind of demand this is—will it generate GDP with the potential to increase its potential, or is it a demand that will impact prices and then disappear." "Using our risk-matching mechanism and framework, we have concluded that we see a risk of expanding inflation, which requires an appropriate response," he said, thus justifying the decision to raise the refinancing rate.
Galstyan noted that the country has seen an increase in the number of people consuming the benefits of our economy, which leads to inflation, increased imports, and other phenomena.
"The information we have suggests that existing demand is much higher than our GDP potential, that the output gap is positive (in simple terms, the economy has 'overheated' - ed.), and we see a risk of this gap widening." "Furthermore, a recent survey showed that many more people have begun to lean toward high inflation expectations, and to anchor this and avoid future regrets, we decided to raise the refinancing rate," he explained.
It should be noted that on September 15, 2026, the Central Bank of Armenia raised the refinancing rate from 6.5% to 6.75%, after nine months of keeping it at the same level.
