Bulgaria’s Economic Growth To Slow down to 1.0%/GDP in 2012 – Think Tank
Bulgaria's economic growth this year will slow down to 1.0% of the projected gross domestic product (GDP), according to a local non-governmental think tank.
The projections, which are more optimistic than those of the Bulgarian central bank and the IMF, are based on the conviction that opportunities for internal economic response and business mobilization are still available so the government could achieve higher results at the end of the year, the Center for Economic Development (CED) said in a report published on its website on Thursday.
The Bulgarian central bank and the IMF have said they expect the country to post annual economic growth of 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, in 2012.
The CED expects that the country's economy would shrink in the first quarter, although it did not specify by how much. According to the analysts, however, economic recovery is likely to begin in the second half of this year, as Bulgaria is expected to reach the pre-crisis levels of production and full recovery by the end of 2013.