Lithuanian Ministry of Finance, given the economic situation and development trends in the country, is updating the forecast for the key macroeconomic indicators in 2012 and 2013.

According to the updated forecast, the projected GDP growth for 2012, compared to the forecast in September, is raised by 1 percentage point, to reach 3.5%, informs LETA/ELTA.

The forecast for the general government financial remained unchanged from an outlook in September: in 2012, the general government deficit will be smaller than 3% of GDP.

The main factors for the GDP raise, wage growth, decrease of unemployment and inflation are a record big crop harvest and Lithuanian exports that preserve fast growth, despite of the downturn in the EU.

The general government deficit will decrease on the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact and will be less than 2.5% of GDP.

As the volume of exports is increasing and more vacancies are registered in Lithuania, the level of unemployment will fall faster than it was predicted in September: it 2012 it will stand at 13%, in 2013 – at 11.5%, or by respectively 0.8 and 1.3%age points less than in the September's scenario.