Culmination of crisis to be noticeable in Armenia in autumn

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. In modern history of Armenia, 2009 will
be the hardest year for the country’s economy, the former chairman of
the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Bagrat Asatrian erxpressed an opinion
at the March 12 meeting with reporters. By his forecasts, very high
inflation and over 10% economic decline are expected this year.

B. Asatrian said that the 20% economic decline recorded in the 4th
quarter of 2008 bore evidence of the trends expected in 2009, and both
the government and the National Assembly were well aware of it.
However, a state budget envisaging a considerable economic growth and a
socioeconomic development program were approved despite this fact.

In his opinion, the growth in power and gas tariffs from April will
cause a chain reaction of a rise in prices of other goods, with the
volume of that reaction being hardly predictable.

The speaker noted that the global financial and economic crisis has not
yet left a considerable impact on Armenia, and its consequences will
become most noticeable in the country from the autumn of 2009 to the
spring of 2010. In particular, according to B. Asatrian, a fall in
remittances is expected, which has not been recorded so far.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress