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Azerbaijan’s economic growth to be highest in Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus in 2015

Business Materials 3 November 2015 19:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 3

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) upgraded its forecast for Azerbaijan's economic growth to 3 percent and 2.5 percent in 2015-2016, respectively, the bank reported on Nov. 2.

According to the EBRD May report, Azerbaijan's GDP growth was expected to reach 1.5 percent in 2015-2016.

The bank stressed Azerbaijan's high liquidity, based upon its assets in the Azerbaijani State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) and gold and exchange currency reserves in the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), which together account for some 56 percent of the country's GDP, as of late 2014.

According to the report, the devaluation of the manat in February 2015 helped reduce pressure on the country's fiscal and external balances.

According to the EBRD expectations, Azerbaijan's GDP growth rate in 2015 will be the highest in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus.

For example, the country's economic growth is expected to reach 2.3 percent and 2 percent in Armenia in 2015 and 2016, respectively, 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent in Georgia, while economic declines are expected to reach 3.5 percent and 1 percent in Belarus, 11.5 percent and 2 percent in Ukraine, 2 percent and zero growth in Moldova.

The EBRD expects economic declines to reach 5.1 percent in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus in 2015, while economic growth increases to 1.4 percent in 2016.

The bank expects the GDP growth to reach 3 percent and 2.8 percent in neighboring Turkey in 2015 and 2016, respectively, while declining to 4.2 percent and 1.2 percent in Russia.

According to the EBRD forecasts, average economic growth will reach 3 percent (2015) and 2.9 percent (2016) in Central Europe and the Baltic countries, 1.6 percent in South-Eastern Europe, 3.8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, in Central Asia, and 4 percent in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region.

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