Fitch forecasts Ukraine’s GDP to contract by 10% in 2015

LONDON, October 21. /TASS/. Fitch Ratings forecasts Ukraine’s GDP will contract by 10% by the end of the year, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Fitch forecasts GDP to contract by 10% in 2015, following contraction of 6.8% in 2014. Recovery prospects are highly dependent on macro-economic improvement but the operating environment is particularly weak," the report said.

An International Monetary Fund /IMF/ mission, which visited Kyiv during September 22 - October 2, projected an 11% decline of the country’s GDP. "Following a deep recession, macroeconomic stabilization is gradually taking hold. The exchange rate has been broadly stable, hryvnia deposits are rising, and inflation is receding. Gross international reserves, have increased to $12.6 billion at end-August, and will be further boosted by a recently agreed swap arrangement with Sweden’s Riksbank for $500 million," the IMF reported. It added though that "despite these positive developments, in view of the larger than expected economic decline in the first half of the year, the mission revised down growth projections for 2015 to - 11% Growth is expected to reach 2% in 2016, supported by recovering consumer and investor confidence, improved export performance, and a gradual easing of credit conditions," the report said.

On September 22, the World Bank (WB) announced its estimates of Ukraine’s economic situation as it projected the economy to contract by 12% in 2015. The WB projected minus 7.5% GDP growth for Ukraine in April and minus 2.3% GDP growth in January.