Poland's Bulging C/A Gap Seen Stabilising - IMF
Poland's current account deficit is expected to widen to some seven percent of gross domestic product in 1999 from 4.3 percent last year.
"I do not expect it will widen further. My assessment that the widening of the last year or so has been caused by special (external) factors which are coming to an end," the IMF's Franciszek Rozwadowski told Reuters in an interview.
The C/A gap amounted to $7.96 billion over the first nine months of the year, against a $6.81 billion shortfall in all of last year as exports to crisis-stricken Russia collapsed.
Exports tumbled 13.3 percent in January-September against the same period of 1998. Imports fell 7.5 percent.
"All the trends in the external environment suggest that exports should turn around. The surprise is it hasn't turned around yet," Rozwadowski said.
Polish central bank chief Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz said she expected exports to pick up early in 2000. The central bank and the government expect the C/A gap to stabilise around seven percent of GDP in 2000.
"I do not expect it will widen further. My assessment that the widening of the last year or so has been caused by special (external) factors which are coming to an end," the IMF's Franciszek Rozwadowski told Reuters in an interview.
The C/A gap amounted to $7.96 billion over the first nine months of the year, against a $6.81 billion shortfall in all of last year as exports to crisis-stricken Russia collapsed.
Exports tumbled 13.3 percent in January-September against the same period of 1998. Imports fell 7.5 percent.
"All the trends in the external environment suggest that exports should turn around. The surprise is it hasn't turned around yet," Rozwadowski said.
Polish central bank chief Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz said she expected exports to pick up early in 2000. The central bank and the government expect the C/A gap to stabilise around seven percent of GDP in 2000.
