IMF raises Hungary 2015 GDP growth forecast to 3 pc

Budapest (MTI) – The International Monetary Fund raised its projection for economic growth in Hungary this year to 3 percent, in its fresh World Economic Outlook published Tuesday, from 2.7 percent it forecast in April.

The projection is just below the government’s official forecast of 3.1 percent growth.

The IMF projects Hungary’s GDP growth rate will slow to 2.5 percent in 2016. The forecast was raised from 2.3 percent in April.

The IMF forecasts consumer prices will edge up 0.3 percent this year. In April it expected the consumer price index would be flat. Inflation is expected to rise to 2.3 percent next year, according to the IMF’s outlook, the same as the previous forecast.

Hungary’s current-account surplus is seen reaching 5 percent of GDP this year, up from 4.8 percent in the previous forecast. Next year, the surplus is expected to narrow to 4.3 percent of GDP, albeit not as far as the 4.1 percent the IMF projected in April.

The IMF projects Hungary’s unemployment rate will fall from 7.3 percent this year to 7 percent in 2016. In April, the IMF projected the unemployment rate would reach 7.6 percent this year and 7.4 percent next year.