Greek economy likely to shrink 4 pct this year, Stournaras says

The Greek economy will shrink much less than "extreme" scenarios projecting a 10 percent or more contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) this year, the head of the country's central bank said on Tuesday.

"I continue to believe that scenarios of -10 percent or more are very extreme and will not be realized," Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, who also heads the European Central Bank's audit committee, said during a crowdcast on the economy.

Stournaras said he expects a contraction no deeper than 4 percent.

Last week the influential IOBE think-tank forecast that Greece's economy could contract by between 5 percent and 9 percent this year after lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The projection by the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) quarterly review was a sharp downgrade of previous growth forecasts...

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