SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The Uruguayan government expects GDP growth of 2 percent this year, Uruguay's El Pais newspaper reported on Saturday, doubling its previous estimate.
El Pais said the government made the projection in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which it also forecast a fiscal deficit in 2017 of 3.3 percent.
The revised growth estimate comes as the South American country is weighing a new international debt issue. It represents a significant increase from the government's previous forecast of 1 percent but is roughly in line with local market expectations and projections by multilateral institutions.
In a February, the Economy Ministry said about $2.05 billion in bonds would be issued in 2017, up from $1.7 billion in 2016.
Uruguay's fiscal deficit was 3.8 percent in the 12 months through March. The government's official goal is to reduce it to 2.5 percent by 2019.