SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 16 (SeeNews) – The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for Bulgaria’s real GDP growth to 6.4% from a previously projected 6.0%, the IMF’s mission head for Bulgaria said on Tuesday.
“Real GDP growth remains very strong. We have in fact raised our forecast for real GDP growth for 2007 from 6.0% to 6.4%,” Albert Jaeger told a news conference.
Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a real 6.4% on the year in the first half of 2007, faster than the revised 6.0% rise in the same period a year ago.
“For 2008 we expect GDP to continue [to grow] at about the same pace,” Jaeger said.
Bulgaria's economy operates under an IMF-prescribed restrictive monetary mechanism called currency board system in which the lev is pegged at a fixed exchange rate to the euro. The government's prudent fiscal policy is the key tool to counter external imbalances under the system.