Lithuania’s indicators positive

VILNIUS - Lithuania kept its economic growth forecast unchanged through next year, said the Finance Ministry on Sept. 9, reports Bloomberg. Gross domestic product will rise 5.8 percent this year, the same as seen in the March forecast, the Vilnius-based ministry said in an e-mailed statement. Economic output will slow to 4.7 percent in 2012.
The Baltic nation’s economy is expanding at the second-fastest pace in the European Union after Estonia. GDP rose 6.3 percent in the second quarter driven by exports and recovering domestic demand.

Inflation will average 4.5 percent this year, compared with a previous estimate of 3.3 percent, the ministry said.
Lithuania will meet its budget-deficit target for this year, Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte said. “There’s no risk to the budget-deficit target,” Simonyte noted after a meeting with lawmakers in parliament in the capital. “The deficit target will be achieved.”
The government is aiming to narrow the 2011 budget shortfall to 5.3 percent of the Baltic nation’s gross domestic product, from 7.1 percent last year.

Tax revenue exceeded the government target in the first half, driven by higher collection of income and value-added taxes, Simonyte said. Excise tax was below target and is likely to miss full-year estimates, she said.
Budget revenue from taxes grew 12.5 percent from last year in the first eight months, reaching 11.4 billion litas (3.3 billion euros) and exceeding the plan by 0.2 percent, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Sept. 9.