Slovak economy to grow in 2015 by 2.6 percent

The Slovak economy will see growth of 2.3 percent this year and it is projected to grow by 2.6 percent in 2015, as well as 3.3 percent growth predicted in 2016. This was stated on Tuesday by Slovak Central Bank (NBS) Governor Jozef Makúch in a prognosis for the fourth quarter of 2014. "The latest eurozone prognosis for next year recorded a tangible slowdown, which translated into lower estimates for the growth of the Slovak economy by 0.3 percentage points in 2015 and 0.2 p.p. in 2016. Despite this development, Slovakia's GDP is expected to accelerate from this year's 2.3 percent to 2.6 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016", said Makúch. In 2015, it is mostly domestic demand that is estimated to contribute significantly to the growth. "In 2016, we also expect exports to complement the domestic demand", he added. Inflation in October 2014 reached a negative value of -0.1 percent, the lowest figure in modern history. "Another slowdown in the expected development of grocery prices and energy rates translated into lower inflation predictions for the next year: a reduction by 0.7 percentage point to 0.5 percent", said Makúch. The current growth in employment has been maintained despite the concerns of Slovak entrepreneurs and, therefore, no changes were seen in the predictions.