Ukrainian economy will grow more intense than predicted earlier – Fitch

International rating Agency Fitch Ratings has updated its economic forecasts for Ukraine. At the end of this year , GDP will grow by 2% as originally thought. But for 2018, the forecast has improved – from 3% to 3.2%.

“Fitch forecasts growth at 2% in 2017 and expects the growth to accelerate to 3.2% and 3.7% in 2018 and 2019, respectively, at the expense of domestic demand”, – said the Agency UNIAN.

Inflation by the end of 2017 will amount to 12.9 percent (the national Bank forecasts 8% (plus/minus 2%). In 2019, inflation is expected to decline to 7.8%.

Fitch also expects the current account deficit to increase to 4.1% of GDP in 2017 and an average of 4% in 2018-2019. The Agency also predicts the total public debt at the level 71.5% of GDP (83,3% including guarantees) this year, for the first time since 2007 the national debt will be reduced to 67.3% in 2018. Note that at the end of September 2017 public and publicly guaranteed debt rose to $ 2 trillion 43 billion UAH (77,03 billion dollars).

Recall, according to the State statistics service, Ukraine’s GDP in the second quarter of 2017 in annual terms rose by 2.3% in the first quarter – 2.5%. Last year the economy grew by 2.3%, while growth was recorded for the first time in the last four years.

According to forecasts of the National Bank, Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2017 is expected at 1.6%. The world Bank and the international monetary Fund predicts a growth rate of 2%.

Earlier, Fitch affirmed long-term Issuer default rating of Ukraine in foreign and national currency at level “B-” with a stable Outlook.

Ukrainian economy will grow more intense than predicted earlier – Fitch

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