Consumption ** Including change in stocks . GDP (%)  The deteriorated growth outlook of our key foreign trade partners and Smederevo Steel Factory (ex US Steel) losing its private owner were the key reasons behind the National Bank of Serbia’s downward revision of the GDP growth forecast for 2012 to 0.5% from 1.5%.
Countries in the region did experience external shocks, including a slump in the semiconductor market and an appreciation of the dollar relative to the yen, that undermined their competitiveness. However, these shocks alone were not sufficient to account for the dimensions of the ensuing crises. The problem was that the shocks hit economies suffering from speculative excesses in their financial and real estate markets.