Gov’t cuts GDP growth estimate to 2.3 pct in 2018
The Finance Ministry has quietly revised its forecast for Greek economic growth in 2018, putting it at 2.3 percent against the budget estimate for 2.5 percent, also included in the latest compliance report by the European Commission.
The ministry’s latest estimate is mentioned in one of the charts attached to the circular signed by Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis regarding the drafting of the 2019-22 midterm fiscal plan.
Obviously the downward shift is due to the worse-than-expected statistics that ELSTAT issued for 2017, when growth undercut the 1.6 estimate to amount to 1.4 percent.
From 2019 and for the next few years the figures in the draft midterm fiscal plan will be the same as the forecasts included in the compliance report: They provide for an increase in the gross domestic product by 2.5 percent next year before declining from 2020, with that year’s growth at 2.3 percent, then 2.1 percent in 2021 and 1.8 percent in 2022.
