Slovak economy expected to exceed its potential by 2020

The Slovak economy has been exceeding its potential for some time and will be exceeding it in 2020, too, Slovak central bank (NBS) governor Jozef Makúch told a conference headlined the "Estimated Development of the Slovak Economy in 2018", held by the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SOPK) on Tuesday. The NBS predicts an increase in inflation, gross domestic product (GDP), nominal salaries, as well as in employment, which are, according to Makúch, positive indicators. On the other hand, he pointed to the fact that the economy is overheating. The Council for Budget Responsibility (RRZ) head Ivan Šramko in his address at the conference stated that the public finance deficit was 2.19 percent in 2016, adding that Slovakia's position in terms of debt is good. Slovakia should achieve a balanced budget in 2020 and if budgetary aims presented by the Government are met, Slovakia's budget should soon get out of sanction boundaries. Among the reasons for achieving a balanced budget, Sramko named getting to a safe debt level, creating fiscal space to achieve long-term sustainability of finances and an emphasis on budgetary discipline in debt settlement. RRZ and OECD see a safe debt level for Slovakia at 40 percent of GDP.