April 18 (SeeNews) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it has increased its forecast for Croatia's economic growth in 2017 to 2.9% from an earlier predicted 2.1%.
The growth of Croatia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to slow down to 2.6% next year, the IMF said in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook report.
Croatia ended 2016 with a GDP growth rate of 2.9%, according to the IMF.
Croatia's consumer prices are expected to increase by an annual average of 1.1% in both 2017 and 2018. In the October 2016 edition of the report, the IMF said it expected the country's consumer prices to rise 0.8% this year.
Croatia's current account balance calculated as percent of GDP is projected at positive 2.8% in 2017 and 1.8% next year, the IMF said. In October, the IMF predicted a positive current account balance of 2.2% in 2017.
The country's unemployment rate is expected to drop to 13.9% in 2017 and 13.5% next year, from 15.0% at the end of 2016, the IMF said.