(ANSA) - BELGRADE, MARCH 6 - Real GDP growth in Slovakia reached 2% y/y in the fourth quarter of 2019, slightly below the flash estimate of 2.1% y/y, but in acceleration compared to the 1.3% y/y registered in the third quarter, Erste Group Research said in an instant comment today. The key driver of growth in the last quarter of last year was the domestic demand, while "foreign trade dynamics remained muted as both exports and imports fell by 0.5% y/y," Erste said.

In Slovakia, growth averaged 2.3% in 2019, in line with expectations, with domestic demand remaining its key driver.

For 2020, Erste Group Research analysts said, the outlook looks more complicated, due to "new risks," in particular those related to "the external environment," which remains "overcast due to slower growth in Germany, China, uncertain Brexit after 2020, unresolved protectionism and structural changes in the car sector." Erste is still keeping "our 2020 economic growth forecast at 2%" for Slovakia, but "there could be a more pronounced negative impact of the new coronavirus depending on the scale and duration of restrictions and countermeasures needed to combat it." (ANSA).