Slovakia’s central bank, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), has expressed increased optimism about the country’s prospects for economic recovery this year. In its medium-term prognosis presented on Tuesday, June 15, the NBS predicted growth of 3.7 percent in 2009, up from the 3.2 percent forecast three months ago. According to the NBS, the economy should strengthen thanks to improvements in foreign demand.
However, the prediction for 2011 was reduced slightly. The Slovak economy should expand by 4.3 percent in 2011, rather than by the previous estimate of 4.4 percent. Slovakia's GDP, hit by the global economic crisis and falls in foreign demand, shrank by 4.7 percent in 2009. As regards the labour market, the central bank expects the unfavourable situation to persist this year, with the employment rate predicted to fall by 1.9 percent. Future developments in the Slovak economy are subject to considerable risks, as public finance consolidation is needed in Slovakia and other EU countries, the TASR newswire wrote.
The NBS issued its prognosis only a day after a similar forecast was released by the Finance Ministry, which also raised its expectations of economic recovery. While the Finance Ministry previously expected growth to reach 2.8 percent this year, it's now predicting 3.2-percent GDP growth.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
