MINSK, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) updated Belarus' economic growth forecast to 1.5 percent this year, according to its report released on Tuesday.
The report said the Belarus' economy will grow by two percent in 2018.
"Belarus' economy is growing again after two years of recession," the bank's experts said. Due to the recovery of external demand, the country's GDP grew by 1.7 percent in the first three quarters of this year, comparing with the same period of last year, the experts added. According to the EBRD, the short-term economic prospects improved due to the resolution of the dispute over gas prices with Russia, the agreement on the restoration of Russian oil supplies to Belarus, the resumption of lending to the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development and the successful placement of sovereign Eurobonds amounting to 1.4 billion U.S. dollars by Belarus.
Stabilization of the exchange rate, weak domestic demand, moderation in wage growth as well as generally conservative macroeconomic policies helped reduce inflation in September 2017 to 4.9 percent year on year, which is the lowest level in recent years, the report said.
However, the risks of GDP decline remain, and growth prospects continue to depend on the scale of structural reforms, the bank said.
