"High economic growth is expected to continue in the second quarter as polls show companies expect a further strong rise in demand," the bank said in a statement.

The statistics office will release GDP growth figures for the first quarter next week. The government expects the export-oriented economy to expand by 3.6 percent this year versus 2.5 percent in 2016.

The central bank noted that construction rose by over 40 percent year-on-year in March, while industrial output was up by 10 percent in the same period. It added that employment is expected to rise significantly in the second quarter with higher demand for labour in the construction, manufacturing, service and retail sectors.

The bank said higher inflation has already slowed down the rise of purchasing power, although year-on-year harmonised consumer price inflation fell to 1.7 percent in April from 2 perent in March.

Slovenia, which narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013, returned to growth in 2014 and is now among the fastest-growing eurozone states.

Reuters