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DUBLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2016 has been revised downward by 0.4 percentage points to 4.5 percent, the Central Bank of Ireland announced on Thursday.
In its latest quarterly economic bulletin, the central bank said the revised GDP forecast reflected a reduced contribution from exports together with some moderation in the growth of domestic demand.
"A downward revision to projected GDP growth this year is mainly accounted for by a weaker external performance," it said.
It added the outlook for external demand has also been reduced for 2017.
However, it said forecast GDP growth of 3.6 percent for next year remains unchanged as the impact of Brexit remained so unclear.
This week, both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Irish Department of Finance have downgraded their growth forecast for the Irish economy for this year and next, citing uncertainty surrounding Brexit, slower U.S. growth and recent exchange rate movements.
The IMF cut its growth forecast for the Irish economy for 2016 by 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent, and by 0.4 percent to 3.2 percent for 2017.
Meanwhile, the Irish Department of Finance predicted the Irish economy to grow 4.2 percent for this year, down from the 4.9 percent in summer forecast. The department also downgraded its growth forecast for next year from 3.9 percent to 3.5 percent.
Previously, Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan signalled that Brexit was likely to cause a 0.5 percent drag on the country's economy. Enditem
