Economic growth may be hampered by external factors

The growth of Slovakia's economy in 2015 could be jeopardised by a difficult situation in the eurozone, as well as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and oil prices, according to a number of analysts approached by TASR press agency. "The situation in Greece remains unresolved, we haven't seen enough reforms in Italy, or in France", said Tatra Banka analyst Boris Fojtik, adding that all of this can stand as an obstacle in the economic growth of Slovakia despite the extremely loose monetary policies of the European Central Bank. As anticipated by the approved 2015 public administration budget, Slovakia's GDP should grow by 2.6 percent. According to the analysts approached, this will be facilitated mainly thanks to domestic demand. "This is driven by the improving situation on the labour market, along with the growth in employment and higher household earnings", stated Maria Valachyová of Slovenská sporiteľňa. VUB's Zdenko Stefanides says that the growth of Slovakia's economy will also depend on the development in oil prices. "On one hand, the drop in oil prices by almost half since the summer represents unexpected support for the growth of the Slovak economy, which is reliant on the imports of oil and gas; but, on the other hand, such an oil shock represents a risk for the financial stability of countries that depend on oil exports", said Stefanides.