Preliminary estimates for 2005 GDP show a disappointing growth of only 3.2%

 "The first impression was negative. Estimates indicate an acceleration exceeding 4% in Q4, while we expected a better result. A closer look into the statistics gives a decent picture," said Marcin Mróz, chief economist of Societe Generale. He highlighted an acceleration in internal demand, which increased by 1.9% for the year as a whole. "Investment growth of 6.2% in 2005 allows an estimate that the ratio increased by almost 10% in Q4," said Ryszard Petru, chief economist with Bank BPH. Investments could also be the main reason for the falling input of exports into the growth of GDP, which stood at roughly minus 1% in Q4 2005. "Growing investments result in a faster growth of imports," said Petru. According to analysts, this means that internal demand is becoming the main driver of the economy and this provides a basis for expecting 4-5% economic growth in 2006. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8; Parkiet, p.7) M.M.