Inflation in EBRD regions in March was 14.3%

According to the latest Regional Economic Prospects of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), early estimates of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 are preliminary and may be revised.

“Inflation may be on the decline, but it remains in double digits in more than three-quarters of the countries where we operate. We also have a lot of evidence that families in the EBRD’s regions are struggling because they have had to deal with two recessions one after the other,” said EBRD Chief Economist Beata Jaworczyk.

Although inflation started to decline (due to lower energy prices), it still averaged 14.3 percent in March across EBRD regions.

“Preliminary results from the next round of the EBRD’s Living in Transition survey, a representative survey of households conducted by the EBRD in partnership with the World Bank, indicate that 55 percent of households in EBRD regions are unable to put money away because they live paycheck to paycheck, and 10 percent of respondents claim that they have debts.

Most households have very limited savings; 59 percent of households in EBRD regions say they cannot cover basic expenses from their savings for more than one month.

Additional data from the “Living in Transition” survey will be published at the end of the year, together with the EBRD’s report on the transition period, the EBRD said.