The Slovak economy grew 3.5 percent y/y in the first quarter of this year, according to revised data from the Slovak Statistics Office, confirming the office's flash estimate of economic development from mid-May. In the January-March period, gross domestic product (GDP) worth €15.833 billion was generated, an increase of 4.5 percent y/y in current prices. In quarterly terms, the gross domestic product net of seasonal influences went up one percent in Q1.
The increase in overall demand was particularly fuelled by foreign demand. Exports of products and services swelled 15.8 percent, down 2.5 points from the first quarter. Imports of products and services increased by 11.3 percent. On the other hand, formation of gross capital rose 2.2 percent, while formation of gross fixed capital went up 1.2 percent. Final consumption of non-profit organisations providing services to households strengthened 2 percent, the SITA newswire wrote.
The GDP structure shows that the economy is still driven mainly by export-oriented industry, ING Bank analyst Eduard Hagara noted. According to Hagara, demand is coming mainly from Germany, which is Slovakia’s most important foreign trading partner, and has been posting significant economic growth. On the other hand, local demand keeps lagging behind.
The unemployment rate in Slovakia decreased by 1.2 percentage points y/y to 13.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. This is the largest year-on-year drop since the last quarter of 2008. The average number of unemployed people was 375,600, a y/y decline of 31,500.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
