BRATISLAVA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia's economic growth slowed to 0.7 percent in the second quarter of 2026, falling short of expectations, said analysts in response to the latest data released by the Statistical Office on Friday.
In quarterly terms, the country's GDP rose by 0.2 percent, while year-on-year growth slowed down to 0.7 percent, the slowest growth seen in the past year.
"The Slovak economy thus lagged behind the EU average, where the growth in the second quarter accelerated by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter," said Maria Valachyova, chief economist at Slovenska sporitelna (SLSP).
The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) analysts Michal Doliak and Viera Mrazikova said the industrial sector "remains stagnant under the pressure of an uncertain external environment and declining competitiveness".
The eurozone's GDP growth which accelerated from 0.5 percent in the first quarter to 1 percent in the second quarter is a positive signal for the Slovak economy, stated Daniel Dujava, an analyst at the Finance Ministry's Institute of Financial Policy (IFP). "Considering the conflict in the Middle East, these results are surprising," he said
Marek Gabris, chief economist at CSOB Bank, noted that while the EU's economic results offer a hope for Slovakia, the country's annual growth is likely to remain below 1 percent as it did last year. ■