Expected revival in second half of 2002 prompts more positive GDP outlook

Gross domestic product (GDP) may grow by more than the 1% forecast by the government for 2002, National Bank of Poland (NBP) governor Leszek Balcerowicz said yesterday. "It can't be ruled out that Poland's GDP over all of 2002 will be above 1% because of the expected revival in the second half of this year," Balcerowicz told a news conference. Earlier, official Central Statistical Office (GUS) data showed that GDP increased in 2001 by just 1.1%, the smallest rise for a decade. "It was a bad year," commented Tadeusz Toczynski, president of GUS. Among the reasons given for the slower economic growth were the fall in domestic demand, which was down by 2%, and the decline in gross capital expenditure on fixed assets, which saw a 10.7% decrease. The economic situation was rescued by exports, which during the first 11 months of 2001 rose by 13.7%. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) P.J.