BRATISLAVA: Slovakia's central bank (NBS) on Tuesday raised its 2012 economic growth forecast for the eurozone state to 2.7 percent from a previous 2.5 percent but slashed its outlook for next two years.
"We now expect the economy to grow by 2.0 percent in 2013 and by 3.5 percent in 2014," the central bank said in a press release, cutting its previous estimates of 3.1 percent growth for 2013 and 4.3 percent for 2014.
Growth this year will be fueled by soaring car production at plants run by Germany's Volkswagen, South Korea's Kia and France's PSA Peugeot Citroen, the central bank said.
But "next year's slower growth will be shaped by low domestic demand and the impact of the consolidation of public finance," it added.
The European Commission expects economic growth in Slovakia to reach 1.8 percent this year, making it the fastest-growing economy in the 17-member eurozone.
The Slovak finance ministry is banking on a 2.5-percent expansion this year and 2.1-percent growth in 2013.
An ex-communist country of 5.4 million people that joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone in 2009, Slovakia grew 3.3 percent last year after expanding 4.2 percent in 2010.
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