IMF warns Belarus over widening current account gap

In a stern warning to Belarus, the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said expansionary economic policies have made the current account gap unsustainable and without reforms it will become difficult to finance.

In its annual review of the Belarus economy, the IMF called for urgent and far-reaching policy adjustments to reverse damage to the economy from recent public wage increases, over-spending by the government on housing, agriculture and other sectors, and foreign currency borrowing from domestic banks.

There is a risk that "expansionary policies cannot be sustained even in the short term, and there is an urgent need for adjustment," the IMF said.