Lithuania's GDP growth slowest in 5 years

Lithuanian economy grew by 1.7 percent in 2015, announced Statistics Lithuania on Friday.

According to Statistics Lithuania, Lithuania's real GDP grew by 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter.

The pace of Lithuania's economic growth was the slowest in five years.

"The added value of manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, transportation and storage, accommodation and food services are the main drivers of GDP growth in 2015," Vilija Lapeniene, the head of Statistics Lithuania, told the news conference.

In 2014, the country's real GDP grew by 3 percent.

Economists from SEB bank in Lithuania highlighted the slowdown in the growth of retail trade. In December, retail trade grew by 4.2 percent, compared to the same month a year ago. During 2015, the country's retail trade grew by 5.3 percent.

"It seems that domestic trade has somewhat lost its growth pace, and we have to move into 2016 with this unhappy news," Gitanas Nauseda, the advisor to the SEB bank president, said in an announcement from the bank.

The country's central bank expects Lithuania's economy to grow by 2.9 percent in 2016. Enditem