Basic food, transport costs up sharply as inflation at 11.3 percent

Inflation stood at 11.3 percent at the end of June, according to the state statistics department.

The rate is slightly higher than May, as measured by end-of-period change to the consumer price index. The hikes affected basic goods the most: cooking oil was up 44.8 percent, bread 31.8 percent and transport 23.2 percent.

But the growth rate of broad money declined to its lowest level in a year, which could help damp future inflation.

In comparison, Ukraine’s equivalent inflation rate is 29.3 percent, according to a Georgian government press release, with 15.1 percent in Russia.

Tbilisi has committed to targeting single-digit inflation this year.

Georgia’s first quarter foreign capital inflow was USD 747.4 million, the government said, a nearly 120 percent increase on the first quarter in 2007.

Year-on-year export totals grew 37.9 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2008 to USD 821.9 million, while imports grew 39.4 percent to USD 1.636 billion.