The Polish economy grew by 5.3 percent in the third quarter of 2021, as the GUS reported in corrected data. According to economists, this is a positive surprise. The market assumed in its forecasts that Polish GDP would increase by 4.8 percent on an annual basis, so the final data was really surprising.

“The GDP in the third quarter was mainly influenced by the increase in domestic demand. In the period from July to September, the increase was 8.6 percent. To a greater extent, the increase in gross capital formation (i.e. outlays for investments and working capital or reserves), which amounted to 33.8 percent, contributed to its growth. Consumption in the household sector increased by 4.7 percent y/y during these months.“Strong increases in value-added were recorded in industry, construction, trade, and transport, which are all sectors with the highest share of GDP. In accommodation and catering, the industry hardest hit by the pandemic, added value increased by almost 9 percent, following an increase of 22percent a quarter earlier,” PKO BP analysts calculated.

Economists of the largest bank in Poland pointed out that the contribution of inventories to GDP growth was the highest since 2006. According to them, this may mean increased and "precautionary" inventory purchases by companies with a shortage of semi-finished products and raw materials for production.

(300gospodarka)