EBRD maintains Slovenia's 2024 GDP growth f'cast at 2.3%

In 2025, Slovenia's GDP is expected to grow by 2.6%, the EBRD said in the May issue of its Regional Economic Prospects report on Wednesday.

"GDP growth slowed further in 2023, to 1.6%, owing to a deceleration in private consumption growth and weak foreign demand. Nevertheless, a sharper drop in imports resulted in a strong increase in the trade surplus, while investments expanded by almost 10% year-on-year," the EBRD said.

Inflation dropped to 3.3% by January 2024 before inching up in March, as real wage growth amid labour shortages and strong demand for services pushed prices up, while after eleven months of annual declines, industrial production growth turned positive in February 2024, suggesting improved momentum in manufacturing, the bank noted.

In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Slovenia’s economy is expected to expand by a real 2.0% in 2024, lowering its forecast for a 2.2% increase made in October.

The EBRD expects that the economic expansion in the Central Europe and Baltic region, which includes Slovenia, will accelerate to 2.2% in 2024, a notable increase from the 0.1% growth recorded last year. The region's economic growth is expected to speed up further to 3.1% in 2025.