YEREVAN, October 29, /ARKA/. Armenia’s Central Bank said in its Program of Money and Credit Policies for Quarter Four 2010 that the economy will expand by 2.4-2.7% this year. The forecast for the first nine months is 4-5%.

The Bank says economic growth risks are bilateral depending both on external and internal factors. But except for industrial sector risk all other risks have prevailing impact on economic expansion.

The Central Bank has revised downward the full-year industrial growth forecast to 6.5-8.5% . The forecast for January-September is 5-7% industrial output growth. The Central Bank has also revised downward its full-year forecast for construction sector growth to 0.5-2.5% expecting it to growth by 1.5-3.5% in the first nine months of 2010.

The forecast for services has also been revised downward to 4.5-6.5%. The Central Bank expects this sector to post a 2.5-4.% growth for January-September. The Central Bank also expects the agriculture to contract by 13-16% this year and rise by 7-9% in January-September 2011.-0-