IMF Sees Bulgarian Economic Growth at 3%, Inflation -5.3% End-2011

The International Monetary Fund expects Bulgaria's economy to grow 3% at the end of this year as a global recovery boosts exports demand in the EU.

The IMF forecast for the Bulgarian economy in 2011 is below the 3.6% growth projected by the Bulgarian government in its 2011 budget.

The Washington-based global lender forecasts end-year's inflation at 5.3%, according to its latest report.

Bas Bakker, leader of the team, commented that the pace of recovery in the countries from SouthEastern Europe is slowing down as the financial crisis hit the region later.

IMF experts have recommended further steps to reduce the deficit and create budget buffers.

Europe-wide estimates are for growth of gross domestic product from 1.8 percent this year and 2.1 percent in 2012. Average annual inflation is seen at 2.7% in 2011 and 1.9% in 2012 across Europe.

According to Bas Bakker overall outlook for Europe and developing countries are optimistic, but still there many problems that should be solved.

Lessons learned from the crisis are that high growth and surpluses should not lead to larger expenditures, but rather to new buffers, IMF report says.

Furthermore, it points out that the stability of the banking systems is of great importance, because if they are shaken, that destabilize the entire country.

A mission of the International Monetary Fund is on a visit to Bulgaria's capital Sofia during the period May 10-20 to hold regular bilateral discussions on economic policies with the Bulgarian authorities.

Details from the report will be disseminated at the end of the mission.