Ireland’s central bank raised its annual growth forecast for the country to 3.7 per cent on Tuesday, citing gathering momentum in economic recovery.
“The recovery of the Irish economy has broadened and gained momentum over the past year,” the bank said in a quarterly report, estimating that annual GDP growth reached 5.1 per cent last year.
Credit ratings firm Moody’s agreed that the Irish economy was “recovering at a reasonably strong pace now, and its fiscal performance has also been improving over the past several years.”
“Ireland’s 2014 economic performance was strong with real GDP growth estimated at around 5 per cent, and the country’s growth prospects remain solid,” Kathrin Muehlbronner, a Moody’s credit analyst, said in a note to investors.
“However, we believe that the strong growth in exports is unlikely to be repeated as it was partly due to special factors related to offshore production activity,” Muehlbronner said, forecasting growth of 3.8 per cent in 2015 and 3 per cent in 2016.
The bank raised its 2015 forecast from an earlier one of 3.4 per cent, based on “strong growth in exports and investment,” and higher consumer spending fuelled by continuing job growth.
But it also warned that last year’s surge in exports appeared to be a “temporary factor,” suggesting that “the underlying strength of the recovery is less than signalled” by 2014’s 5.1-per-cent GDP growth.
GNA
