Slovak Economic Growth Slows in Second Quarter on Crisis

Slovak economic growth slowed in the second quarter to 2.7 percent from a year earlier as the euro region’s debt crisis damped demand.

The result compares with a 3 percent increase in the previous three-month period and a median estimate by five economists in a Bloomberg survey for a 2.6 percent expansion. On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product advanced a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent, the same as the revised figure for the previous three months, the Slovak Statistical Office in Bratislava said on its website today.

The economy in the eastern European Union country, which adopted the euro in 2009, is slowing as the debt crisis in the region cuts demand for exports. The government expects the economy to advance 2.5 percent for the whole of 2012, down from 3.3 percent in the previous year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Bratislava at rtomek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net