Current account deficit reaches 7.7% of GDP in August, higher than expected

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) said yesterday Poland's current account deficit reached $991 million, or 7.7% of GDP in August, over $300 million more than in July. Economists and the currency market were disappointed by the news and the zloty dropped by almost zl. 0.03 against the dollar, closing at zl. 4.55. The current account gap for the first eight months of this year amounts to $7.3 billion, $900 million more than in the respective period last year. The main reason for the poor August outcome are imports, which were more than $100 million higher than in July. According to the NBP, exports for the January-August period were 2.9% higher than last year, while imports were 3.7% higher. Grzegorz Wojtowicz from the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) pointed to the weak euro as a possible reason for a drop in competitiveness of Polish goods and services abroad. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 22)