Slovenians remained among the most frugal nations in the EU in 2019 although the six-year growth in the gross household saving rate came to an end. The rate stood at 13.3% at the end the year, down 0.2 percentage points on 2019, which ranks Slovenia seventh in the EU. The Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened saving again.
With Slovenia in its second lockdown this year, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) said on Friday the economy will need additional aid to help companies and individuals hit by the crisis. The chamber came up with 11 proposals, among them a two-year freeze of the minimum wage.
The Ljubljana Stock Exchange saw another lively day on Friday, with total volumes reaching almost EUR 2 million. The SBI TOP index added 0.38% as big names had mixed fortunes. Standing out is a 5.46% drop for port operator Luka Koper, albeit on only EUR 11,000 in turnover. Energy trader Petrol and the NLB bank were the most sought items.
The Covid-19 epidemic has hit the hospitality industry hard as sales in the sector in the first eight months were down by almost 33% year-on-year, the Statistics Office reported on Friday as it also provided broader data for the services and commerce sectors.
Slovenia's consumer price index remained in negative territory for the third month in a row in October, standing at -0.1% at the annual level despite a 0.3% increase in consumer prices over the month before, show the latest data from the Statistics Office.
Following a meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council on Thursday, Banka Slovenije governor BoĊĦtjan Vasle said that the worsening epidemiological situation in Europe and hence tighter coronavirus restrictions aggravate forecasts for the rest of 2020 as well as those for 2021.
The government has adopted a regulation extending aid to farmers who have been unable to deliver their goods due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Up to EUR 7,000 is available for individual farmers and up to EUR 50,000 for small and medium-sized agri-food companies.