November 7 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it has revised its forecast for Macedonia's economic growth in 2017 to 1.5% from 2.4% projected in May.
“Macedonia experienced negative growth in the first half of the year as the political crisis of the past two years has taken a toll on investment and growth,” the EBRD said in its latest Regional Economic Prospects report.
The Macedonian economy shrank by an annual 0.9% in the first half of 2017, the lender said.
The EBRD has also increased its forecast for Macedonia’s 2018 GDP growth to 2.5% from 2.0% projected in May.
“We expect growth in the second half of 2017 to bring the overall GDP rise in 2017 to 1.5 per cent, increasing to 2.5 per cent in 2018 on the assumption that the country maintains a stable political environment and unblocks further reforms, which can attract much-needed investments,” EBRD said.