"We see that expectations and the foreign economic environment have been declining, however, the Lithuanian economy is expected to continue to grow, although slightly slower than we forecast in spring. On the other hand, the country's inflation remains low and income will continue to rise following the euro introduction. The income will grow much faster than the general price and service level in Lithuania. Thus, the real disposable income is to grow," said Gediminas Simkus, director of the Economics and Financial Stability Service at the Bank of Lithuania.
The central bank predicts that in 2015 Lithuania's economy will grow by 3.1% rather than by 3.3% as predicted in September. The forecast of average annual inflation for 2015, compared to previous forecasts, was reduced by 0.3 percentage point to 0.9%.
Consumption next year is likely to increase by 3.6% (the same as in September's forecast), while the unemployment level will go down to 9.7% (in September, the forecast stood at 9.9%).
Director of the Economics and Financial Stability Service at the Bank of Lithuania explains that the economy growth in this period was driven by exports, however, as activities, hiring and wages gradually increase and unemployment decreases, the domestic demands also comes into play.
