BRATISLAVA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Slovakia's economy expanded
by 4.7 percent year on year in the second quarter, driven by
strong growth in exports and higher than a flash estimate
released in August.
The euro zone member state's output grew by 1.2 percent
quarter-on-quarter, fuelled mainly by a gradual global recovery
as domestic demand stayed weak due to a stressed labour market.
Household consumption fell by 1.0 percent year-on-year.
The Statistics Office said exports increased by 16.5
percent. Imports rose 14.4 percent.
The economy shrank by 4.7 percent in 2009, erasing much of
the 6.2 percent growth from 2008, and a sharp contrast to the
record 10.6 percent expansion in 2007.
The European Commission expects Slovakia to be the EU's
fastest growing economy this year, together with neighbouring
Poland.
A separate data release showed real average wages in
Slovakia rose by 2.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter,
up from 1.6 percent in the first three months of the year.
*****************************************************************KEY POINTS:
SLOVAK REAL GDP Q2/10 Q1/10 Q2/09 FY/09
(pct change yr/yr) +4.7 +4.8 -5.5 -4.7
(pct change q/q) +1.2 +0.8
(for full table pls see ... [])
ANALYSTS COMMENTS
MARIA VALACHYOVA, SENIOR ANALYST, SLOVENSKA SPORITELNA
"The growth was strongly driven by a rise in inventories,
there was also a positive contribution from net exports."
"Households consumption could start to rise in the second
half of the year, but not significantly, all will depend from
developments on the labour market."
"The dynamics of growth should ease in the coming quarters
due to the annual comparative base effect, we expect the economy
to continue to rise on the quarter-on-quarter level"
"We see the economy rising by around 4 percent this year."
BORIS FOJTIK, TATRA BANKA, ANALYST
"The growth in the second quarter was strongly driven by a
rise in inventories, was saw also a rise in imports, which also
contributed to this scenario."
"Industrial production growth data are back to pre-crisis
levels, which also has an impact on inventories."
"We expect the dynamics of growth to slow in the coming
quarters, influenced also by the year-on-year comparative base,
and we see 2010 GDP growth at 4.2 percent."
BACKGROUND:
- In the April-June period the GDP was produced in the
amount of 16.355 billion euro, compared with 15.072 billion
euros in the first quarter of the year.
- The central bank expects the economy to grow 3.7 percent
this year. It is slightly more optimistic than the Finance
Ministry, with its forecast of a 3.2 percent GDP growth.
LINKS:
- For further details on past data, Reuters 3000 Xtra users can
click on the Slovak Statistics Office's website:
http://wwww.statistics.sk/webdata/english/index2_a.htm
- For LIVE Slovak economic data releases, click on......<ECONSK>
- Schedule of upcoming indicator releases............<SK/ECON09>
- Summary of short-term economic data forecasts......<SK/ECON04>
- Slovak benchmark state bond prices .................<0#SKBMK=>
- Slovak forward money market rates ....................<SKKFRA>
(Reporting by Martin Santa; Editing by John Stonestreet)
