European Commission raises Bulgaria’s Growth Forecast to 3.9% in 2017 and 3.8% in 2018
In its autumn forecast, the European Commission (EC) has raised its forecast for Bulgarian GDP growth to 3.9% in 2017 and 3.8% in 2018, up from a projected growth of 2.9% and 2, 8%, the press office of the Ministry of Finance said. This is a result both of a good performance of the economy in the first half of the year and an upward revision to 2016’s GDP growth rate.
Domestic demand is the engine of growth in 2017, and is expected to remain so for the entire period, backed by strong performance of private and public consumption and a recovery in investment. Private consumption is forecast to slow down in 2018 and 2019.
Higher increase in imports, driven by strong domestic demand, will lead to a reduction in the current account surplus to 3% of GDP in 2017. This trend of imports is expected to continue in 2018 and reverse in 2019.
Focus Information Agency