March 8 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's economy is expected to grow by 4.2% in 2018, compared to an estimated growth rate of 4.0% in 2017, the country's central bank said.
In 2019, Bulgaria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 4.0%, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in its Q4 2017 Economic Review published on its website.
In 2018-2019, domestic demand is expected to be a major contributor to the real GDP growth, BNB added.
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HIPC) is projected to increase gradually to 1.9% in 2018 and 2.0% in 2019, from an estimated 1.8% in 2017.
In 2017, deposits of households and non-financial corporations in the banking system continued growing at a comparatively high annual rate (6.1%).
In the first half of 2018 the deposits of the non-government sector are expected to increase further, their growth tending to slightly accelerate due to the retention of a comparatively high savings rate in the economy. Improving macroeconomic environment along with comparatively low lending rates will further contribute to growth of loans to households and non-financial corporations, the BNB said.