December 20 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's central bank said it expects the country's economy to expand by a real 4.7% in 2017, before growth gradually slows down to 3.4% by 2020.
In June, the central bank predicted economic growth of 3.1% in 2017.
Economic expansion will be backed by domestic demand and strong exports, as well as robust growth in consumption which is predicted to reach 3.2% at the end of the year, the central bank said in a macroeconomic report on Tuesday.
The central bank forecasts economic growth of 4.2% in 2018 and 3.6% in 2019.
Inflation is seen at 1.5% in 2017, compared to deflation of 0.2% last year. It is expected to slow slightly to 1.4% next year, before accelerating to 2.0% and 2.2% in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Private consumption growth is projected at 3.2% next year, following which a drop to 2.9% is predicted for 2019 and to 2.8% in 2020.
Government consumption, on the other hand, is expected to increase by 1.5% in 2017 and by 1.6% in 2018.
Growth in investments is also expected to boost the economy. It is forecast to exceed 8% over the next few years.
In 2016, Slovenia's economy grew 3.1%.