BRE Bank on the "post accession slump" and growth forecasts

The bank has revised its GDP forecasts for the third and fourth quarter of this year downwards by 0.5 points. BRE Bank's growth forecasts for these two quarters now stand at 5.1%. Economists from the Institute for Market Economy research (IBnGR) also see a weakening in economic growth, expecting GDP to grow by 5% yoy in the third quarter and 4.9% in the fourth. This would put 2004 GDP growth at 5.6%, while next year IBnGR expects the economy to grow by 5.2% in real terms. However, Bogdan Wyżnikiewicz from the Institute warns that forecasts are surrounded by considerable uncertainty due to the unexpected increase in inventories and unclear data on investment. Central Statistical Office (GUS) figures shows while some companies are investing, the growth rate of investment in the economy as a whole indicates it is still far too low to maintain high growth rates. (Parkiet, p. 8) T.J.