Balkans.com: Montenegro will slowly exit the recession toward the end of the year , says EC

http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=75656

Over the past year, Montenegro has experienced gradual GDP, after a 1.5% drop in the first trimester. Industrial production also went up 5.6 percent, and the country will slowly exit the recession toward the end of the year, read an economic analysis of the European Commission in Brussels according to BETA.

The analysis cited mainly official data from the central bank and Montenegrin state agencies, stating that economic activity declined 5.7 percent in 2009, while unemployment reached 11.6 percent in September. The country's balance of payments deficit was 29 percent of the GDP until mid-year, which, according to the study, was practically financed by a net 10.1 percent higher influx of direct foreign investment, while the central bank's reserves went up by EUR35 million.

The European Commission said Montenegro's budget deficit was 0.4 percent of the GDP in the first six months, the public debt reached 35.8 percent of the GDP, while the foreign debt was EUR37.9 million, owing mostly to payments of loans to international financial institutions for infrastructure projects. The government's public debt may reach 42 percent of the GDP by the end of the year. The European Commission's analysis also stated that this would be "fixed" by income from the September sale of Montenegrin bonds worth EUR200 million, one of the most noted economic events.