The central bank said that Macedonia’s key macroeconomic parameters moved in line with the latest forecast made in April. Real GDP increased by 2.9% y/y in Q1 2013, the statistics office said in June. The central bank comments that this growth is slightly higher than the April projection, due to better than expected performance of investment demand and net exports. The available data for Q2 2013 also indicate that the economy remained in the zone of steady growth, in line with the projected path.
The central bank expects the country’s GDP to grow by 2.2% this year. The latest statistics office data showed that GDP dropped by 0.2% in 2012. The central bank’s projection of 2013 growth in Macedonia is higher than those made by the World Bank (1.4%), the EBRD (1.5%), the European Commission (1.5%) and the IMF (2%).
Annual inflation was 3.6% in Q2 2013, in line with expectations. The monetary authority sees the inflation risks as balanced and projects annual inflation of 2.8% in 2013.
The central bank said that it was a net seller of foreign currency, in line with expectations. The indicators of the foreign reserves’ adequacy remain favourable and the reserves are seen to be at a comfortable level.
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