Azernews.Az

Deflation was reported in Azerbaijan in the first half of 2009 but the trend was reversed in the second half and slight inflation was observed, local researchers estimated.
Rising prices in the services sector resulted in minute price hikes, which made up 0.56%, according to the Economic Research Center (ERC), which is calculating inflation based on alternate methods.
The highest inflation was reported in the services sector last year – 9.59%, while prices of food and other products decreased by 3.18% and 0.97% respectively.
Prices rose 2.67% in the capital Baku in 2009, but decreased 1.5% in the regions, the center said.
Gubad Ibadoglu, the head of the center, positively assessed the fact that inflation was observed instead of deflation in the country. He explained the trend mainly by rising prices for some commodities and services regulated by the government, notably, prices for natural gas and subway fares.
The State Statistics Committee is expected to announce the 2009 inflation figures in the coming days. It earlier said that prices rose 1.5% in Azerbaijan over 11 months of 2009. According to projections, inflation is to make up no more than 2% for the whole year.
The government predicts that domestic prices will increase 3% in 2010. But the ERC says price increases are likely to somewhat accelerate this year and make up around 6%.*