Photo by Bacho/Shutterstock.com

Consumer spending shrank 6.4%, after increasing 1.2% in Q4 2019; and gross fixed capital formation dropped 6.3%, faster than a 4.5% fall. In contrast, government expenditure grew 5.8%, recovering from a 2% decline.

Regarding net trade, exports were down 1.6% (vs 0.9% in Q4 2019) and imports decreased at a faster clip of 2.5% (vs -0.8% in Q4 2019). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy shrank 4.5%, following a 0.4% growth in the prior period.

In another report, the Ljubljana-based statistics agency said that consumer prices in Slovenia decreased 1.2% annually in May, the same pace as in the previous month.

It was the second consecutive month of deflation and at the steepest pace since at least May of 1994, as the global pandemic continued to hit demand. On a monthly basis, consumer prices were up 0.9%, reversing a 0.9% decrease in the previous month, SURS said on May 29.