OREANDA-NEWS. October 18, 2011. For the first time since 1996, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecasts decline Azerbaijan’s GDP by the end of 2011.

The EBRD reports that Azerbaijan’s GDP decline is going to reach 0.8% by the end of 2011 but its growth of 6.1% will be registered already before the end of 2012.

At that, the EBRD forecasts economic growth in Azerbaijan both in 2011 and in 2012: it will be 0.5% in 2011 and 4%in 2012.

In general, Bank’s forecasts are restrained than Azerbaijani government’s expectations.

"An unexpected economic crisis," predicted by the Bank for the end of 2011, is linked with the fact of phenomenal GDP growth (almost 5 billion manat) registered in December 2010. The EBRD concerns that Azerbaijan will hardly be able to repeat this indicator for the second at a run.