The Luys Foundation has released its review of Armenia’s socio-economic performance for January-August 2026, saying economic activity remains at a relatively high level but has been gradually losing momentum in recent months. Cumulative growth for the eight-month period stood at 7.3%.
According to the foundation, the expansion was driven mainly by services, industry and construction. At the same time, industry posted a decline in August, while trade growth remained close to zero, suggesting that the structure of growth is becoming less balanced despite solid headline figures.
In external trade, export and import trends continued to move in opposite directions. In August, the annual fall in exports gave way to 1.3% growth, but the cumulative result for January-August was still a 6.5% decline. Imports, meanwhile, rose 14.9% in August and 9.3% over the eight months, increasing pressure on the trade balance.
The foundation also highlighted a 31.7% drop in exports of plant-origin products in January-July. It said this may also reflect the possible impact of restrictions introduced by the Russian Federation starting in June.
On fiscal policy, Luys described the spending mix as a concern. In January-August 2026, current expenditures increased by 17.8%, while capital expenditures fell by 25.0%. The report says lower capital spending continues to limit the economy’s long-term potential through public investment.
At the same time, cumulative growth in net money inflows to Armenia from abroad accelerated. In January-July 2026, net inflows of personal remittances through Armenian banks reached about $1.87 billion, compared with $716.6 million in the same period a year earlier, an increase of 2.61 times, or 160.6%. Luys said the stronger inflow is supporting domestic demand and the foreign exchange market, while the Armenian dram continues to appreciate against the US dollar.
