In April 2024:
Brent oil price was up 0.4% m/m. Brent crude closed month at US$ 87.9, briefly even slipping below US$ 85.0 per barrel, lowest point since middle of March 2024.
Natural gas price was up 5.4% m/m. April trading saw some sharp swings in both directions with prices ranging from US$ 26.8 to US$ 38.3 per mwh.
In March 2024:
Brent oil price was up 4.6% m/m (+13.6% in 1Q24) and the potential of $100 barrel of oil is back, with JP Morgan suggesting a scenario that could lead to triple digits by September. However, there are a few factors that can hinder the growth, such as OPEC+ decisions, US production and its Strategic Petroleum Reserve dynamics.
In February 2024:
Brent oil price was up 2.3% m/m. Tighter inventories helped push prices up in February, but unlike last month, this was not the only driver of the modest gain. Concerns over the wider Middle East conflict, expected demand and supply changes and the upcoming OPEC+ meeting shaped the trading for crude in February.
In January 2024:
Brent oil price was up 6.1% m/m. It was a first monthly gain for crude since September 2023. According to J.P. Morgan, there is now no geopolitical risk premium in oil prices due to supply’s capacity to absorb the current shocks.
Natural gas price was up 1.2% m/m. Modest gain was a result of positive and negative factors outweighing each other – most importantly, mild weather and sizeable inventories across Europe and temporary halt on reviewing new LNG export applications by the United States.
The FMCG sector in Georgia is growing rapidly. The market size almost doubled over 2018-23, reaching GEL 21bn in 2023. Branded retail chains now make up 39% of the market, up from 22% in 2018. Non-branded stores, pharmacies, and unorganized trade account for the remaining share. In 2023, Tbilisi accounted for 48% of the FMCG market, with the rest distributed among Georgia’s regions, with Adjara and Imereti holding the largest shares. Food products are the largest spending category in the FMCG market, representing 71% of total expenditures, followed by beverages and tobacco.
In December 2023:
Brent oil price was down 7.0% m/m (-10.3% y/y). Top investment banks cut brent price forecasts for 2024 following the increased production from non-OPEC+ countries (mainly US).
Natural gas price was down 29.7% m/m (-54.5% y/y). Despite the low temperatures and the supply risks related to the Red Sea, high level of inventories (86%) in Europe will keep the prices in check for at least the short-term period.
In November 2023:
Brent oil price was down 5.2% m/m. Despite the additional supply cuts by OPEC+, investors were left unsatisfied by lack of clarity whether they will be fully implemented. Consequently, oil continued its sixth straight weekly drop.
Natural gas price was up 10.8% m/m. Despite the monthly gain, it posted substantial decline in the second half of the month, losing 12.3% in two weeks due to larger-than-expected supply and mild weather forecasts.
Telecom sector revenue was up 18.4% y/y to GEL 648.4mn in 1H23, mostly fueled by mobile segment.
Additional 0.32mn users subscribed to mobile operators over 2022-1H23, boosted by migrants and tourism recovery, totaling 5.4mn subscribers. Mobile revenues have been growing since 2021, driven by subscriber growth and removed tariff restrictions since Jul-21. Mobile data traffic is the main driver of growth, skyrocketing 7x due to growth of subscribers and data usage per user over 2019-1H23.
In September 2023:
Brent oil price increased by 9.7% m/m, driven by Saudi Arabia and Russia extending their production cuts by the end of 2023. The recent rally raised the prospect of US$ 100-a-barrel oil, but few are convinced of its sustainability in the near term.
Natural gas price increased by 19.7% m/m. S&P Global expects gas and power demand to be higher in 4Q23 and prices to remain sensitive to volatile supply.
In August 2023:
Brent oil price increased by 1.5% m/m. After a rally in July and early August, which was triggered by Saudi Arabia and Russia announcing production cuts, crude oil prices stabilized at around US$ 85 throughout August.
Natural gas price was up 12.0% m/m. Europe is facing alarm over volatile natural gas prices, primarily driven by outages in Australia, a key liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter.
