20th November 2017

Prague.tv: Czech economy up 5% since last year

The seasonally adjusted Czech gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the previous quarter, and up 5.0 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the preliminary estimates from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ). More detailed data will be released in December. It is the strongest growth in a decade, if 2015 is set aside for being atypical due to one-off factors.

Economists expect growth to continue through 2018.

“The year-on-year growth [in Q3] was contributed to equally by all main expenditure components of the GDP. Domestic demand grew owing to steadily increasing consumption of households and continuing growth of investment expenditure. Most of the economic activities of the national economy were successful, especially industry, but also economic activities of services,” the ČSÚ said in a press release.

IMG Bank chief ecomonist Jakub Seidler said that if 2015 is set aside due to the use of EU funds, then the growth in 2017 will be the fastest in the last 10 years. He expects a growth of 4.5 percent for the full year.

Deloitte chief economist David Marek said that the Czech Republic is currently one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe, along with Baltic States, Slovakia, Romania, Malta and Ireland, and the country was being pushed closer to the EU average in purchasing power parity (PPP).

Economists polled by newspapers and servers agreed that domestic consumption due to higher wages was a key factor in growth. 

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Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist of Cyprus, told Novinky.cz that growth should continue for the time being. “The real estate market and the labor market are overheating now. Cooling can be expected early in 2019, with the onset of a cyclical downturn in the economy,” he said, adding that he sees a slowdown in the growth of the economy and wages in 2020 and '21.

 

Read full story by Raymond Johnston for Prague.tv.

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic