October 13 (SeeNews) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that Moldova's economic output will fall by 4.5% in 2020 and then rise by 4.1% in 2021.
"The global economy is climbing out from the depths to which it had plummeted during the Great Lockdown in April. But with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread, many countries have slowed reopening and some are reinstating partial lockdowns to protect susceptible populations," the IMF said in its October 2020 World Economic Outlook report.
In its previous forecast made in April, the IMF said that it expects Moldova's economy to contract by 3% in 2020 and then grow by 4.1% in 2021.
Moldova's current account deficit is forecast to narrow to 8.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, from 8.9% of GDP in 2019. In 2021, the current account gap is seen widening to 10.6%, according to the October edition of the report.
Consumer price inflation is seen at 2.8% in 2020 and 2.3% in 2021, the IMF said.
Moldova's economic output shrank by 11.5% year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, according to seasonally adjusted estimations, the latest data from the country's statistical office showed.
Earlier this month, the World Bank said that it expects Moldova's economic output to decrease by 5.2% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, downgrading its previous forecast for a 3.1% contraction made in June. For 2021, the World Bank sees Moldova's GDP bouncing back to 3.5% growth.