Polish economic indicators – GDP and inflation

The Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported that Polish GDP grew by 5.1% compared to last year, while inflation in April was at 1.6%.  

According to the flash estimate published by GUS, the Polish economy grew by 5.1% year on year and 1.6% quarter on quarter in the 1st quarter of 2018. The Central Statistical Office is due to publish full GDP data on May 30. The Entrepreneurship and Technology Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz, commenting on the latest data on Poland's GDP, said that they show that the government's entrepreneurial steps contribute to the Polish economy achieving good results. "GDP at the level of 5.1% encourages investment and is a sign that Poland is an attractive country to conduct business," stressed Minister Emilewicz.

In addition, GUS announced that the prices of consumer goods and services in Poland grew by 1.6% year on year in April. Month on month, April's prices rose 0.5%. According to an earlier GUS flash estimate, prices of consumer goods and services were to grow by 1.6% year on year and by 0.5% month on month in April. In March 2018, the prices of consumer goods and services grew by 1.3% year on year and fell by 0.1% month on month.

To complete the picture, Poland's Future Inflation Index (WPI), an indicator that projects consumer price trends in the country over the coming months, remained unchanged month on month in May, the Bureau for Investments and Economic Cycles (BIEC) reported. The WPI index has ceased to grow over the past three months. BIEC experts wrote that over recent months inflationary pressure has stabilised at an elevated level, "however, there are serious circumstances" signalling its possible reappearance in the near future. According to experts, this is linked with both internal and external factors having an impact on Poland's economy, including prices of imported oil and raw materials. Internal factors include growing labour costs as well as the PLN's exchange rate against the USD and the EUR. BIEC added that increased inflation expectations expressed by consumers were the main pro-inflationary factor.