Strong 2006 GDP Figures Published.

Yesterday, the State Statistics Committee posted the breakdown of Ukraine’s 2006 GDP growth (7.1%), revealing that household consumption was the main driver. Alexander Viktorov: In 2006, Ukraine’s economy absorbed gas price hikes and GDP growth showed that the economy was no longer solely dependant on exports.  Ukraine’s exports were in the red again last year, but we saw some improvement as exports were only down 4.9% in 2006, an improvement from 2005’s -11.2%. On the other hand, imports continued their stable growth at 6.5% in 2006. In 2006, household consumption(+14.4%) and the revival of investments (+16.6% – up from 7.1% in 2005) buoyed the Ukrainian economy despite weak exports. We expect to see more of the same in 2007, with households0 and investments making up for weak exports. Our GDP forecast for 2007 is 7.3%.