20091209

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mozambique can start unwinding temporary fiscal and monetary policy measures as of next year in the face of an expected pick-up in economic activity, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

In a review of Mozambique's performance under a one-year $176 million IMF loan, the Fund said the economy had shown "unexpected resilience" during the global economic downturn of the past year.

It said it expects economic growth in the southern African country to strengthen to 5.5 percent next year from about 4.5 percent in 2009.

Overall, the country's performance under the one-year Exogenous Shocks Facility has been on track, the IMF said.

"Most of the key quantitative targets for end-June 2009 were met -- though net credit to the government and reserve money growth were higher than envisaged -- and there has been good progress in implementing structural reforms," the IMF said.