The central bank had forecast GDP contraction of between 5.1% and 6.8% in the previous report released in September. The Finance Ministry expects GDP to fall by 6.4% this year.

The NBH puts the average annual inflation rate for this year at 3.4% in the fresh report, below the 3.5-3.6% range in the September report.

The central bank forecasts a rebound to 3.5-6.0% growth in 2021, a little more muted than the 4.4-6.8% growth projected a quarter earlier.

It puts GDP growth in 2022 at 5.0-5.5% and at 3.0-3.5% in 2023.

The bank’s forecasts for inflation show CPI at 3.5-3.6% in 2021. It sees CPI falling to 2.9-3.0% in 2022 before reaching the 3.0% mid-term target in 2023.