Skopje, 13 November 2021
Yesterday, at a video-conference meeting, the National Bank presented the latest macroeconomic forecasts to the international community - the diplomatic corps and the representatives of the international financial institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The event was also attended by representatives of the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Delegation of the European Union (EU), as well as of the diplomatic representative offices of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the United States of America (USA), China, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Romania, Switzerland, Spain and Kosovo.
"The National Bank forecasts for the pace of recovery of the Macedonian economy and for inflation are very close to the forecasts of both the international financial institutions and the European Commission. The National Bank forecasts economic growth for this year of 3.9%, the IMF and the European Commission of 4%, and the World Bank of 4.6%. Regarding the inflation, for this year, the National Bank forecasts growth of 3.1%, which is also identical to the IMF forecast and similar to the European Commission forecast of 3.3%, and the World Bank forecasts moderately lower inflation of 2.4%.” - was emphasized at the meeting, after a discussion about the assessments and expectations of the central bank.
In her presentation, the Governor, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, pointed out that the macroeconomic scenario and the risks around it also this time are primarily determined by the further developments related to the health crisis, the disruptions in the global value chains and the current energy crisis.
Among other things, Angelovska Bezhoska also referred to the expectations for further solid credit and deposit growth. As she pointed out, lending activity of the banking sector is expected, which will support the recovery of the economy. According to the forecasts, the credit support this year will be 7.1% and will gradually accelerate reaching around 8% in the medium run. There are similar expectations for the deposits movement.
The presentation of the macroeconomic forecasts of the National Bank to the diplomatic corps and the representatives of the international financial institutions is a regular practice, and taking into account the pandemic circumstances, it was held for the third time via video-conference link.