Peru posts slim 2009 current account surplus

* Current account shows surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP

* Peru posted 3.7 percent deficit in 2008

* Reports first fiscal deficit since

LIMA, March 2 (Reuters) - Peru posted a narrow current account surplus for 2009 on Tuesday, reversing a deficit in the previous year, signaling the start of the Andean country's recovery from the global economic slowdown.

The Central Bank said the annual current account surplus was equivalent to 0.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with a deficit of 3.7 percent in 2008.

In the fourth quarter, the current account surplus was 0.8 percent of GDP, compared with a deficit of 3.1 percent in the last quarter of 2008, the bank said. The government has forecast a 2010 current account deficit of 0.7 percent of GDP.

The monetary authority also said the country registered a fiscal deficit of 2.1 percent of GDP last year -- Peru's first fiscal deficit since 2005. In 2008, it clocked a fiscal surplus of 2.1 percent of GDP.

Peru's Central Bank has said the country could post a fiscal deficit equal to 1.6 percent of GDP in 2010.

Peru's economy, one of the fastest-growing in the world, expanded by almost 10 percent in 2008 but growth slowed to 0.9 percent last year as the global financial crisis cooled demand for its key metals exports.

It is expected to expand by 5 percent this year.

Peru's government promised multibillion dollar investments on infrastructure and other programs for 2009/10 to help boost the economy. The Finance Ministry has said about 80 percent of the emergency funds have been spent. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Luis Andres Henao; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)