Ukraine GDP growth reaches 4% YoY in Nov, 5.5% since beginning of year - Economy Ministry

MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Economy Ministry estimates the country's economic growth from January through November 2023 at 5.5% compared to the same period last year, Ukrainian media reported.

The ministry reported that GDP growth in November was 4% compared to November last year. First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko said that in November, the blocking of the Polish-Ukrainian border by Polish road carriers became the main negative factor for producer-exporters and manufacturers dependent on imported raw materials which rely on delivery by truck.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian sea corridor made it possible to partially compensate for losses in the economy, she said. "First of all, producers of agricultural and metallurgical products, metal ore mining enterprises and railway carriers took advantage of this. According to our estimates, positive factors in November somewhat outweighed the negative in the balance of influence on GDP, and as a result, preliminary operational estimates by the Ministry of Economy show there was an increase in GDP of around 4%," Sviridenko said.

The Ministry also said that annual inflation in November fell to 5.1%, which is less than in some EU countries. "Currently, the moderate dynamics of consumer price growth is comparable to the level of inflation in European countries whose economies are not experiencing the effects of conflict. The current inflation trend and the factors shaping it indicate that expectations of relatively low inflation are justified," Sviridenko noted.

At the end of October, the National Bank of Ukraine raised its forecast for the country's GDP growth in 2023 from 2.9% to 4.9%, for 2024 - from 3.5% to 3.6%, while downgrading it for 2025 from 6.8% to 6%.

The government improved its estimate of GDP growth this year from 2.8% to 5%, and downgraded it for 2024 from 5% to 4.6%.