Mp: rumors about state budget sequester must be stopped

YEREVAN, March 10. /ARKA/. Artsvik Minasyan, MP from Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun, denied rumors about state
budget sequester. He thinks such rumors are fueling public pessimism.

The lawmaker finds it impossible to predict the exact course of
economic processes in Armenia. He finds it difficult to say whether
Armenia record economic growth or face decline.

`There are some assumptions now, but we can ground on none of them’,
Minasyan said. World Bank forecasts zero economic growth in Armenia in
2009, while IMF predicts 1.5% slowdown.

Armenian Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsyan told ARKA News Agency that
Armenia will manage to ensure higher-than-zero economic growth.Minasyan
said the present successful tax collection gives no grounds for
pessimism. He also said that tax receipts that are expected to grow
along with price rise will be spent for social payments to maintain
living standards.

This Tuesday the CBA Board took into account the gradually worsening
trade conditions amid the present global economic and financial crisis,
as well as lower capital flow rates, and decided to restrict its
interventions in the currency market thereby reverting to its floating
exchange rate policy. CBA experts believed the dollar average exchange
rate would be 360-380 AMD/$1 this year.

As a result, the dollar leapt to AMD 380/400 per dollar driving food
0Aand fuel prices up and triggering panic. Ordinary people rushed into
supermarkets for butter, sugar and flour.
State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition says prices for
vegetable oil, butter, petrol and sugar immediately soared.

On March 5, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that the 2009
state budget won’t be reconsidered, if things run in due course. But in
case of unfavorable developments, the government will have to
reconsider it in mid-2009. Under the 2009 state budget, the revenue is
planned to total AMD 905 billion, expenditure AMD 945 billion and
deficit AMD 40 billion.

It was planned in the state budget one dollar to be equal to AMD 303.69
in 2009. GDP growth was planned at 9.2% and inflation at 4% (±1.5%).
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