The information on this site is subject to a disclaimer and a copyright notice . More worrying is the renewed widening of the trade deficit. As indicated in the Commission's forecast, exports need to grow considerably faster than imports to curb this development.
Unemployment shows large regional differences.
The rise of inflation is basically due to higher energy and transport prices and an increase in state-controlled tariffs and regulated prices. In 1999 foreign trade at current prices decreased compared to 1998. In the first two months of 2000, Latvia s foreign trade deficit at current prices began to increase again compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. As export growth is set to improve and imports are expected to grow more slowly, the current account deficit should decline further in 2000. Recent monetary policy reflects the modest recovery of the economic situation in Latvia.