The Czech economy slowed to 4.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the 5.5 percent pace it was setting in the last quarter of 2017. The Czech Statistics Office reports that GDP rose just 0.4 percent since Q4. The numbers are slightly lower than had been predicted a couple of weeks ago. “The main factor behind growth in the Czech economy was rapid growth in investments (primarily connected to construction work) supported by continued growth in household spending,” wrote the statistics office. Real domestic demand grew 4.1 percent compared to last year, while it was 0.7 percent above that of Q4.
