Coronavirus to shrink Greek economy by 5 pct-9 pct this year, says think tank

Greece's economy will contract by about 5.0 percent to 9.0 percent this year under baseline and adverse scenarios, hit by lockdown measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, an influential think-tank forecast on Wednesday.

The projection by the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) in its quarterly review was a sharp downgrade of previous forecasts of 2.2 percent -2.5 percent growth made only in February.

Greece has been on a recovery path after a 10-year debt crisis that shrank the economy by a quarter. It grew by 1.9 percent last year, helped by booming tourism, which is also expected to take a big hit this year.

IOBE's forecasts were more in line with the latest projections by the International Monetary Fund, which on Tuesday estimated that Greece's economy would contract by 10 percent this year, driving unemployment to 22.3...