POLAND: Q1 GDP growth tops 3%
31.05.2010, 17:07According to preliminary estimates released today by Poland's central stats office GUS, the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 3% y/y in Q1 2010, slightly above projections for 2.9%.
In the preceding quarter the figure stood at 3.3%.
In seasonally adjusted terms, Poland's Q1 2010 GDP growth came to 2.8% y/y and 0.5% q/q.
The quarterly slowdown is largely a result of the exceptionally harsh weather conditions in the first months of the year, which brought construction projects to a standstill and kept them idle for weeks. Consequently, investments dropped by 12.4% y/y. Instead, companies boosted their inventories, making the gross fixed capital formation ratio go up by 2.4% y/y.
Although the freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall did not exactly encourage people to go out and indulge in shopping, consumption and domestic demand went up by 2.2% y/y each.
GDP growth y/y:
Q1 2010: 3.0%
Q4 2009: 3.3%
Q3 2009: 1.8%
Q2 2009: 1.1%
Q1 2009: 0.7%
Q4 2008: 3.2%
Q3 2008: 5.2%
Q2 2008: 6.1%
Q1 2008: 6.3%
Q4 2007: 6.6%
Q3 2007: 6.6%
Q2 2007: 6.6%
Q1 2007: 7.5%