Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan warned on Tuesday that Armenia’s economy cannot remain unaffected by the ongoing military operations in the region, and that the escalation of the situation could lead to an inflation rate of 1.2–1.7% in Armenia.

“Our estimates indicate that inflation could be around 1.2–1.7%. Other contributing factors include the increase in oil prices, some price increases resulting from the use of alternative import routes, and partial substitution of food products imported from Iran. This falls within the realm of risks — we are not saying it will happen, but if it does, the impact on inflation would be 1.2–1.7%,” he said when asked about the possible impact of the escalation.

According to the Central Bank Governor, there are several channels through which the situation could affect Armenia’s economy, the first and perhaps most significant of which is the impact of the conflict on the global economy and, for example, on economic growth and overall developments in the United States.

“Our assessment is that the conflict in the Middle East increases stagflation risks. On one hand, it raises the risk of an economic slowdown; on the other hand, it carries some potential for higher inflation, which would be quite undesirable for us. If there is a decline in global economic activity, it will inevitably affect Armenia’s domestic economic growth and development.

For example, if external demand decreases, this will naturally impact our economic performance, and the effects may not be purely economic — they could also have psychological consequences. For instance, people planning to visit Armenia this year might refrain from traveling if they see developments around the country moving toward negative scenarios.

The second potential issue, from a risk perspective, is the limitation of Armenian companies’ ability to sell goods in Middle Eastern markets. As a result of these logistical problems, exports could also be partially restricted. We believe there are some accumulated risks in this area.

The third is developments related to oil prices. Oil prices directly affect inflation, but there are also secondary effects, because oil and other energy sources constitute a portion of the overall production cost of goods, which could increase the prices of our products from a supply perspective.

Combining all these factors, we believe there are certain risks that could lead to lower inflation due to weak demand, as well as inflationary risks that could result in higher price levels,” said Martin Galstyan, emphasizing that a clearer picture of the impact will emerge from the March economic indicators.

At the same time, the Central Bank Governor does not yet see a risk to real estate prices or to the repayment capacity of individuals with mortgage loans.

“At this time, we do not see those risks. If the conflict continues and unfolds, for example, along the lines of a Syrian-type scenario, it could certainly have a very negative effect on Armenia and neighboring countries. But at the moment, there are no grounds for such materialization. We need to monitor developments, and if necessary, we will intervene in a way that keeps our economy protected from negative scenarios,” he concluded.

YEREVAN, 17 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 377.46 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.31 drams to 434.27 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.0702 drams to 4.5869 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.1 drams to 502.89 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 595 drams to 60616 drams. Silver price down by 57.55 drams to 958.05 drams.

Armenia’s planned pension increase could add up to 0.2%, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan said.

“The increase in pensions from April 1 may lead to 0.1–0.2 % inflation by the end of the year, depending on how it is measured,” he said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier announced that pensions and social benefits in Armenia will rise starting April 1. For most pensioners, payments will increase by 10,000 drams, while in some cases the increase will be up to 15,000 drams, and in others will range between 7,000 and 9,000 drams.

Ucom press release 

Ucom informs that there has been an increase in phone scams in Armenia. Fraudsters are making calls fromlocal and international phone numbers, as well as sending messages via WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber.

By representing themselves as employees of banks, telecommunications operators, delivery services, or government agencies, they attempt to gain access to citizens’ personal data and mobile applications in order to later steal financial resources.

Scammers often instruct individuals to share or dictate service activation codes received via SMS, click on links sent through text messages and enter their bank card or personal information, as well as install specific applications on their phones, for example under the pretext of activating 5G services or accessing certain services for free.

If such actions are carried out, fraudsters may steal financial resources, gain access to banking applications and perform various transactions, send messages to the victim’s contacts, access personal communications, or remotely control the phone. These scams are often executed very quickly, within just a few minutes.

Ucom once again urges its subscribers never to share personal data, passwords, or banking codes over the phone, not to answer calls from unknown numbers, especially international ones, not to click on links in suspicious SMS messages, and to immediately end the call if the caller asks for personal information, requests opening links, or urges taking any action.

IDBank press release 

On March 17, 2026, IDBank placed registered coupon bonds through a public offering on the following terms:

 2nd tranche, 2026 AMANLBBM5ER9

·  Total volume – 2 billion 500 million drams

·  Annual interest rate – 10%

·  Bond maturity – 36 months (3 years)

·  Bond payment – 3 months

·  Start of issue/placement – March 17, 2026

·  End of placement – May 11, 2026

·  Maturity date – March 17, 2029

 3rd tranche, 2026 AMANLBBM6ER7

·  Total volume – 5 million dollars

·  Annual interest rate – 5%

·  Bond maturity – 36 months (3 years)

·  Bond payment – 6 months

·  Start of issue/placement – March 17, 2026

·  End of placement – August 10, 2026

·  Maturity date – March 17, 2029

The second tranche of the bonds will be placed from March 17 to May 11, 2026 (inclusive), and the third tranche from March 17 to August 10, 2026 (inclusive).

After the placement, the bonds will be listed in the “Armenian Stock Exchange” OJSC. The bonds will be quoted through the Marketmaker.

The full information about the bonds will be available on the Idram&IDBank application immediately after the purchase: the “Bonds” section of the “Banking Services” section provides abbreviation, quantity, face value, annual coupon yield, coupon payment date and maturity date of the bonds.

You can see all the information about the bonds by following the link.

The Bond prospectus was registered by the CBA, resolution N1/407А of the Chairman of the CBA from November 12, 2025. The electronic version of the prospectus and the final terms of issue are available on the official website of the Bank.

THE BANK IS SUPERVISED BY CBA