BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.22
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The deficit in Azerbaijan’s consolidated budget for 2020 can make up 5.7 percent of GDP, Trend reports referring to the Fitch Rating’s weekly review.
According to Fitch, the 2020 deficit assumption in the revised budget has been raised to -10.9 percent of GDP given that the average oil price will amount to $35 per barrel.
The agency forecasts lowering of deficit in the consolidated budget of Azerbaijan up to 4.4 percent of GDP in 2021 and up to 1.1 percent of GDP in 2022 as oil prices and economic growth will recover gradually.
"In Azerbaijan, as in many other states, the fight against the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic required a temporary suspension of the budget rule by the government. However, despite the serious negative impact on the budget deficit, large savings ensure financial flexibility for Azerbaijan," the review said.
According to the latest Fitch forecasts, Azerbaijan's general government debt will increase in 2020 by just 4.0 percentage points to 23.0 percent of GDP, which is a relatively low indicator, as other sovereign countries face the risk of its more significant growth.
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