THE STATISTICS Office’s Q2 preliminary data showed that the Slovak economy recorded a further significant year-on-year fall, but the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) believes that the second quarter might prove to be the bottom of the fall in GDP.
Compared to expectations, the GDP fall was more considerable in the second quarter of this year, but the economy grew on a quarterly basis, which means that GDP probably stopped falling, reads a report summarising economic development discussed by the central bank's banking board on August 25, the SITA newswire reported.
According to a flash estimate from the Statistics Office from mid-August, Slovakia’s GDP contracted 5.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.
If this figure is confirmed, it would mean that the year-on-year GDP fall had slowed from Q1's 5.6 percent. The published data will be revised in early September, when the Statistics Office is expected to publish a detailed examination of Q2 GDP as well.
Analysts assume that foreign as well as domestic demand negatively influenced the economy, as in the first three months of this year, SITA wrote.
