BUCHAREST, June 6 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund will revise upward Romania's economic growth forecast for this year, following strong first quarter GDP data, but said it was still expecting a slowdown in 2009.
Romania's economy grew by a higher than expected 8.2 percent in the first quarter, fanning overheating concerns as the new European Union member also struggles with a ballooning current account gap and resurgent inflation.
Romania's economy grew by a higher than expected 8.2 percent in the first quarter, fanning overheating concerns as the new European Union member also struggles with a ballooning current account gap and resurgent inflation.
After April's annual consultations with authorities, the Fund came in with a 5.5 percent growth forecast for this year and a 4.7 percent estimate for 2009, compared to 6 percent in 2007.
It has said the potential slowdown could be caused partly by the knock-on effects of the global tensions. "The latest (growth) data were on the strong side, and the IMF team will revise up the projection of GDP growth for 2008, compared with the April visit," The Fund's senior regional representative Juan Jose Fernandez-Ansola told Reuters.
"This would be in line with a likely continued boom scenario in 2008, but we still expect a slowdown in 2009."
Ansola added strong growth meant price pressures are bound to remain significant and the implementation of the inflation targeting framework will remain a difficult challenge for Romania's central bank.
Inflation stood at 8.6 percent in April, compared to a post-communist low of 3.7 early in 2007, well above the central bank's target of 2.8-4.8 percent for December. Economists and the central bank expect end-year inflation at around 6 percent. (Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Ron Askew)
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