IMF raises its two-year forecast

Greece’s fiscal deficit will be narrower and its public debt higher than forecast this year and in 2013, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund. The budget deficit will narrow to 7 percent of gross domestic product this year and 2.7 percent next year, the IMF said in the report on Monday.

The institution, based in Washington, forecast in April that Greece’s deficit will be 7.2 percent this year and 4.6 percent in 2013. Greece’s debt this year will reach 162.6 percent of GDP, compared with 153.2 percent in the IMF’s April forecast, and will peak at 171 percent in 2013. In April the IMF said debt will reach 160.9 percent next year.

The latest projections will be revised further, the IMF said. [Bloomberg] – Ekathimerini.com