Polish GDP growth will slow to around 1.0-1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), a government think-tank, said on November 15 in reaction to the latest figures from the Central Statistical Office (GUS).
Poland is currently battling an inflation rate that hit 17.9% last month, while having to contend with a general slump in economic activity across Europe.
GUS reported that GDP grew by 3.5% YoY in the third quarter against 5.8% in the second and 8.5% in the first.
“We predict that in the fourth quarter growth will slow to around 1.0-1.5%,” said PIE economists.
“The activity of industrial enterprises will be weaker due to lower foreign demand and the problems of energy-intensive sectors,” they added.
According to the think-tank, the contraction of the Polish economy will continue next year.
“We expect weaker results both in the coming months and in the first half of the year,” PIE experts said, adding that the bottom of the slowdown would fall in the first quarter of next year.
According to PIE, household spending will grow moderately whereas public spending will grow faster as the result of investments made by industrial companies to reduce energy consumption.
The economists also said that the foreign trade balance will weigh negatively on GDP results, and added that they expect Poland’s economic growth in the whole of 2023 to be close to 1.5%. (The First News/Business World Magazine)
