Croatia's central bank predicts 8.9 pct GDP drop in 2020
Source: Xinhua | 2020-12-18
The Croatian National Bank estimates that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will drop 8.9 percent in 2020 and increase five percent in 2021, governor of the central bank Boris Vujcic told reporters on Thursday.
The latest predictions are gloomier than the ones made earlier in October when the bank estimated an 8-percent drop of GDP this year and a 5.2-percent rise in 2021.
The governor explained that the COVID-19 epidemiological situation and a partial lockdown in the country will slow down the recovery of the economy.
In late November Croatia shut down cafes, bars, and restaurants amid a continuous spike of new infections.
In the last 24 hours, there have been 3,918 new confirmed cases and 85 deaths related to the coronavirus in Croatia, according to data published on Thursday by Croatian Institute of Public Health.
Since Feb. 25 when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the southeastern European country, over 180,000 people have been infected with coronavirus, and 2,955 of them have died.
The government is expected to introduce new stricter measures later this week, which include a travel restriction between counties.
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