THE ECONOMY IS set to grow by 2.5% this year, the Central Bank says.

In their bulletin for the third quarter of the year, the Central Bank says that GDP will grow by 2.5% this year. It says that the economy will grow by half a percent more than originally thought on the back of a strong performance in the export sector and a stabilisation in domestic demand.

It goes on to say that the economy is recovering in a stronger way than previously thought.

“[National accounts data] suggest that the on-going recovery in economic activity is showing a somewhat stronger trend overall than previously signalled by national income and expenditure data.”

It says that banks’ balance sheets are being “gradually repaired” and says that exports, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, had rebounded well since late 2013. It adds that employment numbers should help to boost household incomes, which will impact positively on spending.

The Central Bank also revised upwards its numbers for last year by half a percent, showing the economy grew by 0.2% rather than the 0.3% fall previously thought.

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Read: The economy grew by 2.7% in the first three months of the year

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