The Czech Republic's Finance Ministry has raised its forecast for the 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 1.3 per cent, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the Czech economy will grow by 1.5 per cent this year. Finance Minister Eduard Janota told reporters on Monday that the Czech economy will grow 1.3 per cent in 2010, according to his ministry's latest forecast. The latest forecast, to be published as part of the ministry's macroeconomic report later this week, is slightly more timid than the IMF prediction. The IMF mission to the Czech Republic has put the 2010 GDP growth at 1.5 per cent, the CTK news agency reported Monday, citing the mission head, Zuzana Murgasova. The Czech Republic was spared the meltdown on the global financial markets, but its economy has suffered amid the subsequent economic crisis. The IMF mission has estimated that the Czech economy contracted by 4.25 per cent in 2009, Murgasova said.
