Macedonia's Q3 growth reports save country from recession

SKOPJE, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia registered a modest economic growth in the third quarter of 2017, rising 0.2 percent, Macedonia's national bank said Tuesday.

Although a slight growth, experts here said that it saved Macedonia's economy from the brink of recession.

In the first quarter of the year, Macedonia experienced no growth, while in the second quarter, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) dropped to -1.8 percent.

Had GDP stood at negative levels in the third quarter, Macedonia's economy would officially enter a recession.

Meanwhile, the national bank decided to revise downwards Macedonia's economic growth rate for 2017.

It cut the growth rate to 0.5 percent in its last report issued in November from the level of 2.5 percent it had forecast in its May report.

The bank attributed the downward revision to the impact on the country's economy from the political crisis in the first half of the year. Enditem