imageBELGRADE: The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its forecast for Serbia's 2016 growth to 2.5 percent from 1.8 percent, and warned that greater effort will be needed to curb the country's high levels of debt.

In a statement after the mission completed its fourth and fifth reviews of a 1.2 billion euro loan deal, the Fund said it saw Serbia's 2016 inflation at 1.3 percent, well below the central bank's target of between 2.5 and 5.5 percent.

It commended the government's fiscal consolidation measures and said it expected the budget deficit to reach 2.5 percent of national output in 2016 compared to a targeted 4 percent if the government continued with prudent execution of "budget expenditure"

The mission arrived in Serbia 10 days ago to meet Serbian officials and assess if the EU candidate country is in compliance with policies agreed in a 1.2 billion euro loan deal.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

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