Analytics, Economics, Employment, EU – Baltic States, GDP

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 19:42

IMF projects Latvia to see deepest economic downturn in Baltics in 2020

BC, Riga, 14.10.2020.Print version
Of the three Baltic economies, Latvia is expected to see the deepest downturn in 2020, writes LETA, according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook. 

The IMF projects Latvia's GDP to contract 6% this year, which is less than the 8.6% contraction forecast in April. Latvia's GDP growth forecast for next has been downgraded to 5.2% from 8.3%. 


The IMF expects Latvian consumer prices to rise 0.6% this year. In 2021, inflation is expected to climb to 1.8%. 


Latvian unemployment is projected to hit 9% by the end of this year and drop to 8% next year. 


Latvia's current account is likely to accumulate a surplus in the amount of 2% of GDP this year but next year Latvia is expected to run a current account deficit of 0.8% of GDP. 


Estonia's GDP is expected to reduce by 5.2% and Lithuania will see its economy contract 1.8% this year, which will be the smallest contraction rate in the whole of Europe, the International Monetary Fund estimates.


Lithuania's GDP is projected to grow 4.1% in 2021.


In April, the IMF estimated that Lithuania's economy would shrink 8.1% this year and grow 8.2% next year.


The IMF expects the global economy to contract 4.4%, down 0.8 percentage points from its earlier estimate. The euro area's GDP prognosis changes 1.9 percentage points to minus 8.3%.


According to the World Economic Outlook, the average inflation rate is projected at 1.3% in Lithuania this year, and prices are expected to grow 0.6% in Latvia and 0.2% in Estonia.






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