The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) affirmed on Wednesday its projection for a 3.3% increase of Serbia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, but cut its growth forecast for 2023 to 3.3% from 4.0% projected in May.
“GDP growth is projected at 3.3% in 2022 and 2023, with risks to the near term reflected in elevated inflation, weighing on disposable incomes, and worsening external demand due to the anticipated slowdown in EU markets,” the EBRD said in the latest edition of its Regional Economic Prospects report.
The global rise in food and oil prices helped drive the annual inflation rate in Serbia to 13.2% in August. In response, the central bank increased the key interest rate six times so far in 2022, from 1% in March to 3.5% in September, the EBRD said.
The economic output of the EBRD’s region of Western Balkans, which comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, is seen rising 3.2% in 2022 before expanding 3.0% in 2023.
Source: SeeNews, Momentum
