The International Monetary Fund approved the a 176 million EUR loan for Macedonia in light of the coronavirus epidemic and its blow to the economy.

IMF sees a 4 percent GDP drop in 2020, caused by the forced shut down of entire segments of the economy and the greatly reduced demand.

“North” Macedonia’s economic outlook has deteriorated substantially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Real GDP is expected to decline by 4 percent in 2020 due to a fall in both domestic and external demand. This, together with negative shocks to confidence and spillovers from global financial channels, has created an urgent balance of payments need… The authorities have also expressed their strong commitment, once the COVID-19 crisis is over, to rebuilding fiscal buffers and implementing the structural reform agenda to help preserve debt sustainability and speed up income convergence to European Union countries, said Tao Zhang, IMF Deputy Managing Director.

Central Bank Governor Anita Angelovska – Bezoska said that this will help relax monetary policies in Macedonia and provide credit lines to the worst affected households and companies.