IMF improves its growth forecast

TALLINN - The International Monetary Fund revised upwards its 2012 GDP growth forecast for Estonia, predicting economic growth of 2.4 percent.
An IMF forecast released in April predicted economic growth of 2 percent.
The fresh, more optimistic forecast falls in the middle ground compared with other forecasts, as the Bank of Estonia predicts 2.6 percent growth, and the Finance Ministry 2.2 percent.

The IMF’s forecast for next year was revised downward by 0.1 percent, to 3.5 percent.
Last week, Swedbank released lower predictions for the nation’s 2012 and 2013 GDP growth. Revised statistics published in September showed that the recession was deeper, and the recovery faster, than originally thought, the bank said in its Baltic Sea Regional Report.

Therefore, it has lowered its 2012 growth forecast from the 3 percent it predicted in August to 2.6 percent, and its 2013 forecast from 4 percent to 3.7 percent.