Yerevan, November 8 /Mediamax/. Armenia is the only country in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, which managed to avoid the violent growth of inflation.

Mediamax reports that this is stated in the IMF report “Economy development prospects in the region of the Middle East and Central Asia”.

The document notes that the Caucasus and Central Asia belong to the number of regions with high speed of economic growth. In the course of the recent three years, it was estimated by two-digit numbers and this year it is expected to reach the average level of 13%.

The speedily growing prices for oil have positive influence on the oil and gas exporter-states – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. “But the things are positive in other states as well, which have considerably less natural resources. As a result of reforms in Armenia and Georgia, the business atmosphere improved and the arrival of direct foreign investments accelerated”, the IMF Senior Advisor of the Department of Middle East and Central Asia states David Owen said.

At the same time, he stressed, there is tenseness showing up, related to the resumption of the growth of inflation.

“Having decreased approximately from 15% in late 1990s to 5-7% by 2004, the average yearly speed of inflation in the region at present is again estimated by a two-digit number. Under the influence of the latest external shock, caused by the rapidly growing international prices for foodstuffs, the average speed of inflation in September exceeded 12% and, most likely, will still increase by the end of the year. But even before this shock, the inflation was steadily increasing. It was stirred up by the stable demand and the growing liquidity, and the central banks in most of the states increased the offers of national currency for the purchase of the inflowing foreign currency to limit the consolidation of the rate of their currencies. Exception is Armenia, the monetary policy of which with a flexible exchange rate helped to preserve the inflation at about 5%”, David Owen noted.