The Slovak economy is expected to grow by 2.5% this year and next. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) expects this in its latest forecast published on Wednesday. It slightly worsened its estimate from the summer forecast. Inflation is expected to accelerate temporarily to 5% next year from 3% this year, before returning to lower levels.
However, the positive news, according to NBS Governor Peter Kažimír, is that this situation will not bring a decline in the standard of living in Slovakia, will not cripple the growth of the economy and the labour market will remain stable. Real wages are expected to grow by 3.8% this year and by 0.2% next year.
In the absence of consolidation, the estimate of economic growth next year would be similar to that of the summer, i.e. around three per cent.
The central bank estimates the general government deficit at 5.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. In the absence of consolidation, NBS Executive Director Michal Horváth said he would expect it to fall slightly to around 5 percent in the coming years. Including the approved package, the deficit should fall towards the stated target of around 4.5 per cent in both 2025 and 2026.
Source: TASR
