International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a report on global economic perspectives. The document’s authors foresee for Bulgaria a GDP growth of 2.9% in 2017 and a slowing to 2.7% in 2018. There is a 0.1% increase on the 2016 autumn IMF report.

In early April the Financial Ministry also reviewed its expectation with a positive trend up by raising its autumn prognosis by 1% envisaging 3% growth of GDP.

The IMF foresees that the increasing of prices of goods and services in Bulgaria will continue over 2017 and 2018 as well, revising its inflation expectations up to 1% respectively and 1.8% on an annual base.

However, the greatest changes can be seen in current bill’s forecast: the Fund expects a surplus of 2.3% in 2017.  A factor for the positive trend is the bettered Bulgarian export over the second half of 2016 – both towards the EU and third countries.

At the same time the Fund’s forecast on unemployment rates remains unchanged: 7.1% in 2017 and 6.9% in 2018.