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Pociatek: Finance Ministry Won't Re-evaluate Its Estimates
Wednesday 16 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry won't re-evaluate its estimates regarding Slovakia's economy this year and won't begin preparing a new macro-economic prognosis until the spring of 2010, when up-to-date figures from the whole of 2009 will be known, Finance Minister Jan Pociatek told TASR on Wednesday.
Pociatek said this in response to a prognosis published by the Slovak central bank (NBS) on Tuesday, according to which more favourable economic developments can be expected in Slovakia. The prognosis states that Slovakia's economy will contract by 4.8 percent in 2009, and not 5.6 percent, as expected in September. The Finance Ministry still expects a 5.6-percent fall based on its September prognosis. Both institutions concur that the Slovak economy will revive next year, however.
Pociatek admitted that current reports regarding the global economy are more optimistic than older ones. However, he refused to speculate whether this means the actual end of the economic crisis. "Let's hope that this trend will continue. I'm glad that reports like these have emerged, but saying whether the crisis is over or not would be premature at this point," he said.
The Finance Ministry estimates that Slovakia's economy will grow by 1.9 percent in 2010, whereas NBS is more optimistic, expecting 3.1-percent growth. According to Pociatek, the most important factor in the whole equation is developments in the economies of Slovakia's main trading partners, as Slovakia is heavily dependent on foreign demand. "If there is a sustainable revival ... Slovakia could profit from the situation more than other countries specifically due to its openness," said Pociatek.
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