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Lithuania's GDP forecasts updated downwards

Xinhua, September 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Lithuanian central bank reduced its forecast for the country's economic growth this year by 0.3 percentage points to 2.3 percent due to deteriorating investments and Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU), the bank announced on Monday.

"Economic development this year is weaker than expected, and its pace might be slowed down by the UK's decision to leave the EU," Aurelijus Dabusinskas, director of the economics department at the Bank of Lithuania, was quoted as saying in the bank's statement.

In his words, uncertainty in Britain and its trading partners "will put a lid on investment and consumption."

"It is projected that advanced European economies will experience the most adverse impact; hence, the demand of our goods and services in those countries will scale down as well," Dabusinskas underlined.

However, increasing household income and the expected rise in domestic consumption will offset the negative factors, the bank noted.

As the external environment is becoming less favorable, domestic factors, namely the improving labor market, rising wages, and a stable growth of consumption, will push the Lithuanian economy forward, it added.

According to the updated Bank of Lithuania projections, Lithuania's real gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 2.3 percent (compared to the previous projection of 2.6 percent) in 2016 and by 2.9 percent in 2017 (previously 3.3 percent).

Lithuania's ministry of finance also revealed its updated macroeconomic projections on Monday. The ministry cut its GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 2.3 percent. The economy will advance by 2.7 percent in 2017, 0.4 percentage points less than projected earlier, the ministry said.

According to the country's minister of finance, Rasa Budbergyte, given the "external negative factors" being observed, Lithuania must be prepared to resist them.

In the first half year of 2016, the economy saw a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent. Last year Lithuania's GDP expanded by 1.6 percent. Endit