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NBS Expects 4.8-percent Fall in GDP in Slovakia in 2009
Tuesday 15 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - According to the Slovak central bank's (NBS) current prognosis, the Slovak economy will contract by 4.8 percent this year.
NBS is therefore slightly more optimistic than in September when it predicted a fall of 5.6 percent. It also expects better developments in the next two years, predicting that the Slovak economy should grow by 3.1 in 2010 and by 4.3 percent in 2011.
The main reason for re-assessing the estimate was improvements in foreign demand, which should form the main factor of growth in the near future.
"Recovery will come thanks to the recovery of our main trade partners," said NBS general director for currency issues Peter Sefcovic. This is also the sphere where the biggest risk lies if developments are different.
The Slovak economy has been hit by a drop in demand resulting from the global economic crisis. According to the Statistics Office, the year-on-year economic decline decelerated in the third quarter of 2009 to 4.8 percent from -5.7 percent in the first quarter and -5.5 in the second. Last year, the Slovak economy expanded by 6.2 percent.
NBS's prognoses are more optimistic that those prepared by the Economy Ministry, which predicts that the Slovak economy will decline by 5.7 percent this year. The European Commission has similar expectations. Slovakia with expected growth of 2 percent next year, however, should become one of the most-dynamically developing economies in the EU.
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