Members of the Armenian men’s artistic gymnastics national team, who had traveled to Qatar for a training camp and were unable to return to Armenia due to flight cancellations caused by escalating tensions in the Middle East due to the war in Iran, are now returning to Yerevan, the Gymnastics Federation of Armenia said on Tuesday.

The federation expressed its gratitude to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to Armenia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Tigran Gevorgyan, for the significant support provided during the return process. It also thanked its colleagues at the Qatar Gymnastics Federation for their assistance to the team throughout their stay in Qatar.

The Armenian national team missed the third round of the World Cup, held on March 10 in Antalya, Türkiye, due to flight cancellations.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported last week that stranded Armenian citizens in Qatar were offered free transportation to Oman for a connecting flight to Yerevan. Ten citizens used the free transfer option. Ambassador Gevorgyan personally escorted the Armenian nationals to the Saudi border.

The Armenian athletes were among those nationals who had been granted entry visas to Saudi Arabia to travel onward to Oman.

At its March 17, 2026 meeting, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia decided to keep the refinancing rate at 6.50%, the Lombard repo facility rate at 8.00%, and the deposit facility rate at 5.00%.

In the first quarter of 2026, annual inflation accelerated, reaching 4.3% in February.

The Central Bank said in its 2026 Q1 Executive Monetary Policy Statement that during the same period, annual core inflation increased to 4.7% Y-o-Y. In the first quarter of 2026, risks of a further slowdown in demand conditions in the global economy and in Armenia’s key partner economies significantly increased.

In the United States, the structural characteristics of economic growth, reflecting developments in the technology sector, as well as risks of a further correction in financial asset prices, a weakening labor market, and the sharp increase in global oil prices may negatively affect the medium-term growth outlook.

The macroeconomic implications stemming from US trade policy have somewhat weakened, but continue to remain one of the main sources of uncertainty. In the medium term, uncertainty regarding long-term interest rates has increased amid expectations of rising US public debt, partly due to uncertainty over the possibilities of tariff collections.

In Armenia’s other main partner economies, risks of weakening medium-term growth and demand are gradually materializing. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty, tensions in international trade relations, and concerns regarding potential disruptions in global supply chains continue to remain a key source of elevated price volatility in the global economy. Global oil prices have increased sharply amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, while uncertainty regarding their outlook has increased significantly. Food prices have also exhibited some volatility amid concerns regarding potential disruptions in global supply chains. In this context, taking into account, on the one hand, the formation of a weak demand environment, and on the other hand, the increase in inflationary risks, it is likely that central banks in major economies will maintain or delay the easing of monetary conditions in the near term. In the fourth quarter of 2025, economic growth in Armenia significantly accelerated. High economic growth continued to be driven by the construction and services sectors, as well as by manufacturing. Uncertainty regarding current demand conditions and future developments has sharply increased, particularly due to structural issues in economic growth and risks related to fiscal expansion․ In this context, the impact of aggregate demand on inflation is assessed as expansionary. There are also inflationary risks driven by supply-side factors. At the same time, private wage growth, services inflation characterized by sticky prices, and inflation expectations continue to show signs of stabilization. In the context of current macroeconomic developments, financial market participants in Armenia generally expect the Central Bank to maintain the current level of the policy rate for a somewhat longer period, followed by a l reduction toward 6.25% in the medium term. Amid the discussed risks and prevailing uncertainty, the Board considered, on the one hand, Case A-type scenarios related to a possible increase in global neutral interest rates driven by fiscal policy, as well as risks of the formation of excess demand conditions and fiscal expansion in the domestic economy, which would require a higher policy rate path relative to market expectations. On the other hand, the Board discussed Case B-type scenarios related to the outlook for a slowdown in global economic growth and a possible decline in Armenia’s country risk premium, implying the formation and deepening of a weak demand environment, which would require a lower policy rate path relative to market expectations. As a result, balancing the need to manage risks in both directions, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia decided to keep the policy rate unchanged in the current phase. The Board will continue to monitor developments in the economy and stands ready to take appropriate actions to ensure the 3% inflation target and price stability in the medium term.

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