EBRD lowers Montenegro's 2024 GDP growth f'cast to 3.5%

"After higher-than-expected growth in 2023 at 6 per cent, economic expansion is forecast to moderate to 3.5 per cent in 2024, reflecting a higher base and the negative impact of dry weather on hydropower generation. Growth is expected to be driven by private consumption and investments from the expenditure side as well as services and construction from the production side,” the EBRD said in its May 2024 Regional Economic Prospects report.

Growth is expected to further slow down to 2.9% next year when the Pljevlja thermal power plant, which supplies almost 40% of the country’s electricity, will undergo a long rehabilitation leading to lower electricity production and increased energy imports, the EBRD said

The economic output of the EBRD's region of Western Balkans where Montenegro belongs is expected to increase by 3.3% in 2024, the EBRD said, revising upwards its projection for 3.2% growth made in September. It is then projected to expand by 3.7% in 2025. The region's economy expanded by 2.5% last year