Pace of Ukraine's GDP growth in 2017 exceed expectations – central bank

The actual pace of Ukraine's real GDP growth in 2017 was 2.5% higher than the expectations of the National Bank, published in the Inflation Report January 2018 (2.1%).

As stated in the NBU commentary on the final stats on GDP growth for 2017, the recovery of the Ukrainian economy is more rapid than expected, while consumer demand remained the main driver of growth, as well as investment activity.

In addition, external conditions continue to contribute to real GDP growth, as exports of goods and services in real terms increased by 3.5% yoy.

Read alsoUkraine's state debt down to 72% of GDP in 2017 – Finance MinistryIt is also reported that in 2018, economic growth is expected to accelerate to 3.4%, according to the NBU expectations, but an updated forecast will be published in the Inflation Report for April.

As UNIAN reported, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine improved the estimate of real GDP growth of Ukraine in 2017 to 2.5% from 2.2%, according to operative estimates.