IMF projects drop in Ukraine's GDP to -7.7% due to coronavirus

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a serious drop in Ukraine's economic growth due to the coronavirus - down to -7.7% in 2020, according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook for April 2020.

According to the report, Ukraine's real GDP is projected at -7.7% at the end of this year. In 2019, this figure was 3.2%.

At the same time, the Ukrainian economy is expected to stabilize in 2021 and real GDP is projected to reach 3.6%.

According to the report, among emerging market and developing economies, to which Ukraine belongs, "all countries face a health crisis, severe external demand shock, dramatic tightening in global financial conditions, and a plunge in commodity prices."

The IMF also forecast that Ukraine's consumer price index will drop from 7.9% last year to 4.5% this year and rise to 7.2% in 2021. The current account balance will remain negative at -2.0% in 2020 and -2.4% in 2021. The IMF predicts that the unemployment rate in Ukraine will increase to 10.1% in 2020 and fall to 9.3% in 2021.

The sharp decline in economic performance for Ukraine corresponds to global trends linked to the economic and financial crisis predicted by the IMF in the wake of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Fund, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by -3% in 2020 from 2.9% in 2019. The most advanced economies, including the United States, China, the European Union and other economies, are not expected to escape the economic downturn.

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