The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its forecast for economic growth in Mozambique, according to a report this week by Mozambican newspaper Folha de Maputo.
The media outlet said the IMF is now expecting 7-percent economic growth for 2015, down 0.5 percentage points from the fund’s last projection.
The Washington-based international body said – in a statement quoted by the newspaper – that floods and weak growth in the agricultural sector have contributed to a less optimistic outlook.
Nevertheless, the newspaper added, the IMF has hailed the dynamism of the Mozambican economy.
“Regardless of the budget readjustment introduced by the [Mozambican] Government, the economic momentum in the transportation and communication sectors should allow [the country’s economy] to maintain high levels of growth,” the IMF stated, as quoted by Folha de Maputo.
Mozambique’s gross domestic product at market prices grew 5.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, Folha de Maputo reported last month, quoting official data.