PODGORICA, March 11 (Reuters) - Montenegro's GDP will grow between zero and 2.5 percent this year, down from an earlier five-percent projection, and the Adriatic country may ask the IMF for a stand-by loan, the finance minister said on Wednesday.
"Right now we are close to very slow growth of between zero and 2.5 percent," Finance Minister Igor Luksic told Reuters in an interview.
"We think that the Montenegrin economy will still grow this year, but the fact is that day after day we get grimmer perspectives from the European economy and we are interdependent."
Between 2004 and 2008, the former Yugoslav state grew at an average rate of seven percent. With less revenue than projected and growth slowing considerably, the government is considering turning to the IMF for a stand-by loan, Luksic added. (Reporting by Adam Tanner; Editing by Andy Bruce)