The recession in Greece this year is forecast to be shallower than expected due to a strong year in tourism and a rise in spending earlier in 2015 brought on by fears that depositors would suffer losses, the European Commission said on Thursday.
“Heightened uncertainty and the introduction of capital controls” are leading the Greek economy back to a recession of 1.4 pct in 2015 and 1.3 pct in 2016, the European Commission said in its autumn forecasts for the Greek economy. The European Commission expects the Greek economy to return to positive growth rates (2.7 pct) in 2017
The unemployment rate is projected to rise to 25.8 pct in 2016, from 25.7 pct this year and to fall to 24.4 pct of the workforce in 2017. Greece ‘s fiscal deficit is expected to rise to -4.6 pct of GDP this year (from -3.6 pct in 2014) falling again to -3.6 pct in 2016 and -2.2 pct in 2017. The country’s public debt, however, is projected to rise to 194.8 pct of GDP this year, rising to 199.7 pct in 2016 and falling to 195.6 pct in 2017.
(source: ana-mpa)
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