January 16 (SeeNews) - Italian financial group UniCredit said it expects Bosnia and Herzegovina's economic growth to slow down to 1.6% this year from an estimated expansion of 3.9% in 2022, revising downwards its September projection for 1.9% growth in 2023.
The deceleration of economic activity in the local economy and the country’s main trading partners is likely to create weak stimulus for growth for 2023, though Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy continued to maintain a solid growth rate in 2022," UniCredit said in a quarterly macroeconomic report on Central and Eastern Europe last week.
In 2024, Bosnia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 2.5%, as real income, consumer sentiment and external demand recover, UniCredit said.
In terms of inflation in Bosnia, the banking group expects it to average 9% in 2023, before falling to 3.1% in 2024. Average annual inflation in Bosnia is estimated at 14.2% in 2022.
UniCredit expects Bosnia to have a general government deficit of between 0.5% and 1% of GDP in 2023. In 2024, fiscal deficit will be lower as the anticipated improved economic activity gradually brings more revenue, the group said.