The Slovakian government has slashed its growth forecast for this year - but the country is still expected to grow at the fastest rate in the eurozone.

Slovakia, which adopted the euro at the start of this year, forecasts GDP growth of between 2.4% and 2.5%, down from a previous forecast of 4.6%, Reuters reports.

The Finance Ministry will officially report the changed forecast later this month.

Earlier this week, the country's central bank said it too had cut its forecasts, from 4.7% growth to an even lower 2.1%.

Slovakia is heavily reliant on both foreign investment and exports, especially of cars and other consumer durables, like TVs, both of which have been severely hit by the downturn.

The country has previously set a blistering rate of GDP growth - 10.4% in 2007; but this pace slowed markedly last year to 7%.

While a big fall, the new forecast, if it is realised , means far higher growth for Slovakia than any other member of the eurozone.

Many observers also believe that countries like Slovakia, which specialise in high end manufacturing, will ultimately benefit from the recession as big manufacturers cut costs by speeding up relocation plans to cheaper CEE countries.

Robin Bowman