bank of finland 400HELSINKI: The Bank of Finland cut its economic growth forecast for 2013 on Thursday and said the uncertainty of the debt crisis left the Nordic economy vulnerable to "substantial" downside risks.

The central bank lowered its gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook for 2013 to 1.2 from a previous 1.8 percent, although it raised its forecast for the current year to 1.5 percent from 0.4 percent as domestic demand was firmer than expected.

For 2014 it forecast GDP growth of 1.6 percent.

"It is, however, difficult to predict the future course of the debt crisis, and there is thus a great deal of uncertainty regarding Finland's external environment," Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen, also a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, said in a statement.

"The downside risks to the forecast are, therefore, substantial."

Copyright Reuters, 2012

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