Analytics, Economics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, GDP

In the latest EBRD forecasts, Latvia’s economic growth is projected at 3.5% this year, which is by 0.6 percentage points lower than in November’s forecast.

In 2019 EBRD expects Latvia’s GDP to grow 3.5%.

Among economic forecasts for the Central Europe, Lithuania also saw a drop in the projected GDP growth. Lithuania’s GDP growth forecast has been cut by 0.3 percentage points to 3.2% this year and 2.8% next year. Estonia’s economic growth forecast has been raised by 0.4 percentage points to 3.8% this year, and 3% next year.

EBRD said in its report that growth in central Europe and the Baltic States (CEB) picked up markedly, from an average of 2.9% in 2016 to 4.3% in 2017, boosted by stronger investment and higher wage growth. The latest forecasts suggest that the economic growth will slow down to 3.8% this year and 3.3% next year because of shortage of qualified workforce.

The average growth in the EBRD region may have now peaked and is expected to moderate to 3.3% in 2018 and to 3.2% in 2019, the bank said.

EBRD was established in 1991 to help build a new, post-Cold War era in Central and Eastern Europe. The bank is operating in 29 countries.