World Bank keeps Ukrainian GDP decline forecast for 2009 at 15 percent

The World Bank has kept the forecast of the decline in Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 at 15%, however, it revised upwards the GDP growth forecast in 2010 from 1% to 2.5%, World Bank senior economist Ruslan Piontkivsky said at a press conference on Thursday.
In his words, inflation in Ukraine in 2009 is projected at up to 14% and in 2010 at up to 11%.
As the World Bank said in a press release, Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth in 2009 is expected at 13.8% and in 2010 at 10.6%. Ukraine's nominal GDP in 2009 is forecast to shrink to UAH 912.3 billion from UAH 949.9 billion in 2008, while in 2010 it is expected to expand to UAH 1.032 trillion.
As was reported earlier, the World Bank in July 2009 downgraded its forecast for the expected fall in Ukraine's GDP in 2009 from 9% to 15%, but improved its inflation forecast from 16.4% to 13.4%.
It predicted that real GDP was to grow 1% in 2010, with the consumers prices growing 10.5%.
In its recent economic update, the World Bank says that Ukraine's state and guaranteed debt in 2009 is to increase to 36.7% of GDP and in 2010 to 41.7%.
The bank's experts say that in 2009 there will be a deficit of Ukraine's current account balance worth 0.6% of GDP, whereas in 2010 Ukraine will see a surplus worth 0.1% of GDP.
"Ukraine's real sector bottomed out in the first half of 2009, but fiscal and financial pressures give no ground for complacency," reads the World Bank's economic update on Ukraine dated October 15, 2009.
The World Bank says that while reflecting the global outlook it improved its growth forecast for 2010 but domestic demand is likely to remain subdued.