Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) expects that Belarus’ GDP will go up by 1.3% YoY in 2017, EDB’s July macroeconomic review says.
“The economic recovery trend in Belarus continues. In January-May, the country’s GDP rose by 0.9% as against the same period of 2016. We expect that the positive tend will persist, and Belarus’ GDP will go up by 1.3% by the end of 2017,” the macro review indicates.
The review reads that Belarus’ industrial output rose by 8.4% in May. The positive trend in the mining and manufacturing sectors continues. The decline in the production of coke and oil products continues to gradually slow down. The weather in May contributed to a high production growth rate connected with the supply of electric power, gas, steam and hot water. The construction sector is still in decline. The agricultural output fell back into the negative territory in May, as against the high results of the previous year and due to the unfavorable weather conditions.
“The annual inflation fell from 6.3% in April to 6.1% in May. It continues to be below the target of 9% set by the National Bank. The reduction of inflationary expectations, the stable situation on the foreign currency market, and the weak domestic demand continue affecting the development of inflationary processes. Considering the positive trends in the economy, the National Bank decided to further cut the refinancing rate from 13% to 12% on July 19, which would be the sixth reduction since the beginning of 2017 when it stood at 18%,” the EDB experts noted. (BelTA/Business World Magazine)
