By Eva Sahakyan

YEREVAN, August 13–Price deflation amounted to 0.8 percent in July 2010 compared to June 2010, according to the Armenian National Statistics Service. But on an annual basis inflation rates grew, amounting to 7.8 percent.

According to Vache Gabrielian, the vice-chairman of the Armenian Central Bank, the numbers are quite real.

“We can always talk about what’s the market basket you want,” Gabrielian said during his interview with Radio Liberty. “Your personal inflation may be different from my personal inflation. From this point of view inflation is always averaged and can never correspond to the experiences of a specific person. According to our logic, it reflects the fluctuations of current market basket exactly.”

The Central Bank of Armenia assures that as a result of lack of inflationary pressure and toughening of monetary conditions, the domestic inflation environment continues to decay in Armenia and at the end of the year it will be near the upper bounds of the desired range.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian had predicted about a 6.5 percent inflation rate, and the desired inflation level according to the law “On State Budget” is about 4 percent.

Deflation, registered in July, is connected mainly with the price cutting of foodstuffs. According to official statistics, eggs fell in price by 11.4 percent, vegetables and potatoes by 6.7 percent, fruits by 5 percent  and sugar by 4.5 percent.

Yerevan Report