April 29 (SeeNews) - The Slovenian government's Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, UMAR, revised downward its economic growth forecast to 4.2% from 4.7% projected in September, it said.
"Even before the start of the war in Ukraine, we expected a slowdown in growth, which, in addition to last year's high base, was mainly due to growing price pressures due to high prices of energy and raw materials and bottlenecks in supply chains," UMAR said in a statement on Thursday.
The volume of support measures having a positive effect on economic growth will be lower this year, while private consumption will slow down under the influence of higher inflation, the institute said.
"After last year's strong rebound in economic activity, we expected growth to slow before the war in Ukraine, which, in addition to last year's high base, was mainly due to growing price pressures caused by high energy and raw material prices and bottlenecks in supply chains. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the adoption of sanctions have increased these pressures, as has the impact of the industries most involved in trade with Russia and Ukraine," UMAR director Maja Bednas said in the statement.
Export growth will decelerate in 2022 from the 8.1% expansion in the previous year due to the effects of the war in Ukraine and a sharp decline in exports to Russia, UMAR noted.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expects Slovenia’s economy to expand by a real 3.7% in 2022, lowering its forecast for a 4.6% increase made in October.