Poland's economy to grow by 1.5 pct in 2023 says development minister

Poland's GDP will increase by 1.5 percent in 2023 while annual average inflation will stand at around 12 percent., the development and technology minister has said.

Minister Waldemar Buda said that he was optimistic about a GDP growth in 2023 and that he believed it would amount to 1.5 percent.

"Analyses speak about values ranging from 0.5 percent to 1.9 percent. But 1.5 percent is feasible," Buda told RMF radio on Thursday.

Referring to inflation, the minister said that it would surely be lower than in 2022.

"It will be going down in the first quarter. Later, it will go up slightly... And it will begin decreasing in the 2nd half of the year," Buda said, adding that the annual average inflation will stand at around 12 percent.

The draft budget for 2023 envisages Poland's GDP growth at 1.7 percent and annual average inflation at 9.8 percent.

According to the Central Statistical Office, prices of consumer goods and services (Consumer Price Index, CPI) increased by 17.5 percent year on year and by 0.7 percent month on month in November 2022.

Poland's GDP increased by 3.6 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2022, after a 5.8-percent growth in the second quarter.