1:25 23 September 2021
Polish economy still fueled by consumption
Retail sales increased in nominal terms by 10.7 percent in August, compared to August last year, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported. The dynamics of retail sales were close to the average market expectations at the level of 10.5 percent. In July, sales increased by 8.9 percent on an annual basis.
According to Monika Kurtek, chief economist of Bank Pocztowy, the dynamics of retail sales returned to higher levels in August.
"At the same time, it cannot be ignored that the high nominal increases in retail sales did not necessarily translate into increases in real terms in August (this was especially true for fuels and food), which means that the increase in prices in these categories was extremely severe for households," the economist noted.
As Kurtek added, the published August data confirm that we are dealing with still high consumer demand in the Polish economy. What could make the inflation rate grow slower? We would have to change the structure of growth – that is, make it not based primarily on consumption.
ING economists indicate that it is private investments that should increase in Poland so that our economic growth is of better quality and inflation does not rise too quickly.
