Ukraine’s GDP grew by 3.1% in first quarter of 2018

the best quarterly growth rate since the end of 2016, the State Statistics Service reports. Growth forecasts for the year are: Bloomberg economist survey – 3%; IMF — 3.2%; National Bank of Ukraine — 3.4%; and World Bank — 3.5%. Last year, Ukraine’s economy grew by 2.5%. This year, growth is fueled by pre-election government spending – notably a $2 billion road repair program – and by increased remittances from Ukrainians working in the EU. Concorde Capital’s Evgeniya Akhtyrko writes: “This GDP estimate comes as a positive surprise..Apparently, the continuing upswing in trade and construction boosted economic growth. We expect such growth to accelerate even further to reach our 2018 GDP growth projection of 3.3% yoy.”