Latvian economy seen shrinking 6.5% in 2020 as coronavirus outbreak weighs

RIGA, March 26 (Reuters) - The Latvian economy is seen shrinking 6.5% this year due to the spread of the new coronavirus and the decline could be even sharper should global efforts to curb the pandemic fail, the country’s central bank said on Thursday.
The Bank of Latvia,
whose governor has a seat in the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing
Council, also said in a statement to Reuters that inflation was seen
running at only 0.5% this year, well below its previous forecast.
In its previous outlook, from December last year, the central bank had saw the Latvian economy expanding 2.6% in 2020 with inflation reaching 2.4%.
“...these forecasts are modeled in a time of great uncertainty and they might be corrected substantially if the global efforts to restrict the spread of the coronavirus do not succeed,” the bank said.
The central bank also said that the measures implemented by the Latvian government would be key to reducing the effects of the crisis.
Latvia, which has confirmed 244 cases of the new coronavirus, has canceled all international flights, shipping, railway and bus traffic until mid-April and banned all public events and gatherings of more than 50 people.
The country’s shopping centres and supermarkets have also been temporarily closed over weekends. (Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; editing by Niklas Pollard)

Masāžas paraugdemonstrējumi! Konkursi skropstu un uzacu meistariem, frizieriem, stilistiem, vizāžistiem, bārddziņiem - Baltic Beauty 2025 (3)

RIGA COMM Ķīpsalā! 3000 dažādu nozaru profesionāļi. Digitālie risinājumi, lai izglītotos, tīklotos un izveidotu jaunus, noderīgus kontaktus (4)

200 dalībnieku no dažādām valstīm! TOP 7 iedvesmai – kas noteikti jāredz interjera, dizaina izstādē Riga Furniture Interior 2025 (2)

Īpaši mīļi un sirsnīgi! Mūziķis Ainārs Ašaks pēc māmiņas došanās mūžībā izsaka emocionālu pateicību NMPD Valmieras brigādei (23)

Negaidīti mūžībā devies Latvijas TV skatītāju iemīļotais eksperts Aigars Freimanis (2)
