HELSINKI, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish economy will recover faster than expected from the pandemic despite the uncertainty caused by the Omicron variant, OP Financial Group has predicted.

According to an economic forecast published by OP, Finland's largest financial company, on Wednesday, Finland's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.7 percent this year. The increased rate of COVID-19 infections will only temporarily weaken the country's economic growth, the forecast says. .

Meanwhile, OP predicts the GDP will grow by 1.7 percent next year, driven by the positive trend expected in the second half of 2022.

Each successive pandemic wave has affected the economy less than the previous one, the financial group's chief economist Reijo Heiskanen said.

"It is likely this time too that the Omicron wave will mainly set the pace for economic development instead of changing the big picture of the economy," he added.

Finnish economic growth will be broad-based in 2022 and 2023, since exports, fixed investments, and consumer spending are expected to perform well, predicted OP's economists.

In addition, the unemployment rate is expected to drop to 6.3 percent in 2023, the lowest level since 1990.

OP also forecast that the current record level of inflation in the eurozone should decrease this year, but remain higher than in the years prior to the pandemic.

Although Finland's inflation rate rose sharply at the end of 2021, particularly due to a surge in energy prices, it was still one of the eurozone countries with the lowest inflation rates at that time.

The financial group has forecast that inflation in Finland will be an average of 2.7 percent in 2021, falling to slightly under 2.0 percent in 2023.

However, although the economists warned that risks are in balance, there is still a high level of uncertainty. Following a quick recovery, economic growth may slow down due to capacity constraints, inflation, and tighter policies.

OP Financial Group is Finland's largest financial company, which consists of 137 cooperative banks and their central organization. The group has over two million customer-owners, offering retail and commercial banking services all over Finland, as well as insurance services. Enditem

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