Slovenian October exports fall yr/yr; expected to rise in months ahead

LJUBLJANA: Slovenian exports, the main driver of the country's economy, fell by 0.7 percent year-on-year in October, mainly because sales to other European Union members declined, the statistics office said on Friday.

It also said exports in the first 10 months of the year rose by 3.6 percent compared with the same period of 2015.

Analysts said exports are expected to rise in coming months as economic indicators in the EU remain favourable.

The European Central Bank said on Thursday the euro zone economy was expected to expand 1.7 percent next year versus the 1.6 percent forecast earlier.

"Economic activity is still relatively good ... so I expect Slovenia's GDP growth will surely be above 2 percent this year," said Igor Masten, a professor at Ljubljana's Faculty of Economy.

He added that export figures were reflected in industrial output, which fell by 0.6 percent from September to October, although October industrial output was up by 6.6 percent compared to October last year.

"It is possible that exports are down mainly due to lower prices of export products which have decreased after a fall of global raw material prices," Masten said.

Euro zone member Slovenia, which narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013, exports about 70 percent of its production, mainly to other EU members, particularly Germany, Italy and Austria.

The government expects the economy to expand by 2.3 percent this year and by a further 2.9 percent in 2017, pushed up by increases in exports and household spending.