SLOVAKIA’S economy grew by a record 8.2 percent in 2006, according to preliminary data released by the Statistics Bureau, buoyed by fourth quarter real GDP growth of 9.5 percent.
The growth data confirmed the latest estimates by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). Analysts expect that GDP growth should increase even further in 2007, the Sme daily wrote.
NBS Governor Ivan Šramko said that while it was still too early to comment on the figures, it appeared that the dramatic growth – a record for Slovakia since its 1993 founding – was not leading to economic overheating, and was based on macroeconomic fundamentals.
Šramko added that it was a positive sign that inflation in Slovakia was not rising significantly with the high GDP growth.
According to the NBS governor, the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter of 2006 confirmed that high growth can coincide with low inflation.
"Of course, this cannot be maintained in the medium or long term," Šramko said.
