Economic activity in Slovakia contracted by 4.7 percent last year and gross domestic product in constant prices ticked down 2.6 percent y-o-y in the last quarter, the Slovak Statistics Office stated on March 4, modestly revising down the figure for GDP from the previous 2.7 percent, the SITA newswire wrote.
Both domestic and foreign demand shrank in the last quarter of 2009, affecting economic development. Exports of goods and services decreased by 5.2 percent, and imports dropped by 10.3 percent in the fourth quarter. The structure of the GDP in Q4 2009 confirmed that Slovakia’s GDP was bolstered by a recovering foreign trade balance, commented ING Bank analyst Eduard Hagara.
The consumption of the government also had pro-growth effects. On the other hand, low investment activities and weak demand from consumers resulting from the negative situation on the labour market hampered the local economy, he said. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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