Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė disputes presumptions that Lithuania’s economy may stop growing. She notes that the Bank of Lithuania and the Ministry of Finance do not foresee a recession.

“Many people are talking about a recession but not a single official forecast predicts a recession. Does this mean that it will not happen? It could be that it will not happen, but there is a possibility that it may happen,” Šimonytė said in an interview with the news agency ELTA.

However, the head of Government agrees that economic growth will not be as rapid next year.

“Economy will indeed grow moderately. We will not really see 5% growth as we did last year. (&) Uncertainty is great because the winter will be difficult indeed,” said Šimonytė.

The prime minister stated that slow economic growth would be affected by several factors.

“Central banks will raise interest rates. We cannot predict what action the Chinese Communist Party will take further when tackling the pandemic. It seems to be the only remaining country with a strict approach on what to do. This has consequences not only for the health of the Chinese people but also for the global economy. And the war [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine]. Clearly, all of this accumulates into one pile. All of this has to be considered,” said Šimonytė.

In June, the Ministry of Finance forecast that Lithuania’s GDP would grow by 1.6% this year, 2.1% in 2023 and 3% in 2024.

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