IMF forecasts Senegal's GDP growth above 6 pct

DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's economy is healthy and GDP should grow more than 6 percent this year and next, while its budget deficit will fall from a projected 4.2 percent of GDP this year to 3.7 percent in 2017, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The economy of the West African country is mainly driven by services, tourism and agriculture. Senegal issued $500 million in 10-year Eurobonds in 2014 at an interest rate of around 6 percent. "Senegal is the only country in the West African monetary union and one of very few African countries to have an IMF designation showing that the risk of a debt crisis is small," said Ali Mansoor, who headed a mission to the country. "Everything for the short term is going very well," he told reporters. (Reporting by Diadie Ba; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Richard Balmforth)