The Greek economy will return to high growth rates as of 2023, when the targets for primary surpluses have receded, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its April 2018 World Economic Outlook report, presented on Tuesday at its Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.
In the data for Greece, the IMF said Greece’s development rate was 1.4% in 2017. This year it said it will reach a 2% growth rate, and next year it will be 1.8%. For 2023 it predicted a 1.9% growth rate, higher than its assessment six months ago (1%).
The IMF also foresaw a faster drop in unemployment than its forecast six months ago. Unemployment in Greece dropped to 21.5% in 2017 (in October, it had set it would settle at 22.3%). For this year, it sees a 19.8% unemployment rate, against 20.7% prediction last October. For 2019, the IMF foresees a drop to 18%.
In terms of Consumer Price Index rates, it will total 0.7% this year (from 1.1% in 2017), and 1.1% in 2019.
For the current accounts deficit, the IMF said this year it will stay at the same level as in 2017 (0.8% of GDP), while in 2019 it will drop to 0.6% of GDP.
Overall, the fund said that the eurozone countries will leave the crisis when they manage effectively their non-performing loans. In the eurozone, it said, the continuing progress in reducing NPLs is necessary, especially in Greece, Italy and Portugal.
