Central Bank revises down growth outlook

The Central Bank is sticking to its view that the economy will recover gradually, although it has revised down its growth outlook, according to its Quarterly Economic Update.

In its latest review, the Central Bank forecast that GDP would grow by 1.3% this year, which is down from the 1.7% it predicted in the last Quarterly Review, on the basis that the global economy still faces a challenging environment. GNP is forecast to grow by 0.5% this year.

However, there has been an upwards revision of growth in 2012 on the back of a more robust retail sales performance, with GDP now expected to have increased by 0.7% and GNP by 1.5%.