The Fund expects Estonia’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 2.4 percent this year and 3.5 percent next year. Latvia’s economy will grow 4.5 percent in 2012, and the growth will decelerate to 3.5 percent next year.
The forecasts of Lithuania’s economic growth this year and next were revised up from 2 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, projected in April. Julie Kozack of the Fund’s European Department said in June that Lithuania’s economy would expand by 2.75 percent this year.
The Fund’s analysts expect Lithuania’s GDP to grow faster than the economy of the Emerging Europe, which includes Lithuania and Latvia. The region’s economy is projected to grow by 2 percent in 2012 and by further 2.6 percent in 2013.
The Fund estimates that Lithuania’s average annual inflation will go down to 3.2 percent this year, from 4.1 percent in 2011, and will drop further to 2.4 percent in 2013. In April, the IMF projected the average annual inflation of 3.1 percent this year and 2.5 percent next year.
The jobless rate forecast for 2012 was revised down to 13.5 percent, from 14.5 percent projected in April, and the forecast for 2013 – to 12.5 percent, from 13 percent.
