Egypt minister expects 2% growth in second quarter

Egypt's economy should grow at an annual rate of 2 percent in the second fiscal quarter, the state's planning minister said on Tuesday, after expanding less than 1 percent in the first quarter because of violent protests.

The government targets 3.5 growth in the current fiscal year, which ends June 2014. But the country has been rocked by violence ever since this past July, when the army ousted the elected Islamist president, Mohammad Mursi.

Economists polled by Reuters predicted growth of just 2.6 percent for this year. The economy grew 2.1 pct in the previous fiscal year, which ended before the latest wave of violence.

"The results of the first quarter of fiscal year 2013-14 for the period from July to September were modest and will not exceed 1 percent," the minister, Ashraf al-Arabi, told state news agency MENA. He said 2 percent growth was expected in the second quarter, from October to December, MENA said.

The army plans for Egypt to vote on a new constitution on Jan. 14-15, then hold parliamentary and presidential elections next year.