Kinakh Forecasts 1H07 Inflation of 2.3-2.4%, GDP Growth of 7.5%

At a press conference in Kyiv yesterday Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Anatoly Kinakh, said that the government forecasted the CPI to increase 2.3-2.4% and real GDP growth of 7.5% in 1H07. The Ministry of Economy also expects industrial output to grow 11% in January-June, due to increased production from the machine building and metallurgy sectors. Kinakh said the foreign trade deficit will come in at around USD 1 bln as export growth (24-25%) is expected to exceed that of imports (22-23%).