Ukraine's GDP rises 5.3% in first 9 months

Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5.3 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2010, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Vadym Kopylov said here Friday. "During this period, banks increased their lending to the economy by 9.3 percent to 99 billion U.S. dollars," Kopylov added. The rise was registered after a 13.7-percent increase in agriculture and an 8.6-percent rise in manufacturing, the official noted. Revenue growth contributed to enhancing investment activity, and investment in the fixed capital increased 15.9 percent, he said. The official emphasized future forecasts for economic growth would be affected by the situation of the global market. The government has forecast 5 percent growth for 2011 and not less than 4 percent growth for 2012. In 2010, Ukraine's GDP grew 4.2 percent.