The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) considers that Moldova’s economy in 2015 will stagnate and reduced thus the economic growth forecast made in autumn from 4 per cent to 0 per cent, IPN reports, quoting the Regional Economic Prospects published by the Bank.

EBRD economists said a sharp fall in the price of oil has piled pressure on an already fragile Russia, and is hitting growth in energy exporters and other emerging nations with close links to Eastern Europe’s largest economy. They expect Russian GDP to shrink by close to 5 per cent in 2015. On the positive side, the oil price decline could help soften the impact on emerging economies of the expected normalisation of U.S. monetary policies.

The EBRD says that Moldova, as other CIS countries, faced the devaluation of the national currency at the end of 2014 (and this devaluation continues). This can affect the real and financial sectors of the Moldovan economy.

The Bank reduced the GDP growth forecasts for most of the CIS states. The forecast was maintained only for Tajikistan and was slightly increased for Uzbekistan and Georgia.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forecast for Moldova an economic growth of 3.5 per cent and, respectively, 3 per cent in 2015.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the economic growth in Moldova in the first nine months of 2014 was of 4.7 per cent. In the publication MEGA, the think tank “Expert-Grup” forecast an economic growth of 2 per cent for 2014 and of 4 per cent for 2015