May 29 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's economic output contracted by a real 2.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, and was also 4.5% lower compared to the final quarter of 2019, the country's statistical office said on Friday.
"In the first quarter of 2020 a decrease was observed in domestic consumption as well as external demand. Domestic consumption had a greater impact on GDP decrease," the statistical office said in a statement.
Domestic consumption shrank by an annual 3.1% in January-March, as a result of a 3.1% drop in final consumption and a 3.3% fall in gross capital formation. The only constituent of final consumption that increased was government expenditure which rose by 5.8% on the year.
A drop in external demand was observed for the first time in the last ten years, with the exception of the second quarter of 2012 when external demand edged down 0.1% on the year, the statistical office said.
In January-March, exports fell by an annual 1.6% and imports shrank 2.5%. Still, since exports declined less than imports, the trade balance had a positive contribution of 0.5 percentage points to the first-quarter GDP dynamics.
The Slovenian economy is expected to shrink by some 7-8% this year, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.