Latvia's 2007 GDP hits 10.2 percent, while annual inflation reaches 16.7 percent

Latvia's gross domestic product jumped 10.2 percent last year while inflation continues to dog the country, growing for the ninth consecutive month in February to reach an overheated 16.7 percent, the statistics agency announced Monday.

The GDP result will likely allow the Baltic state to keep its title as the European Union's fastest growing economy, which it earned in 2006 after GDP expanded 11.9 percent.

Growth was led by the transportation and construction sectors, up 11.6 and 12.4 percent respectively, though manufacturing was down 3.1 percent, Statistics Latvia announced.

For over a year now Latvia has struggled with imbalances from …