Better-than-expected growth in the first quarter has led the Czech Finance Ministry to predict the economy will increase by 2.7 percent this year, up from an earlier prediction of 1.7 percent.
“Such a significant change – by 1 percentage point – was almost solely caused by a better-than-expected development in the first quarter,” the ministry said in statement this week. Czech GDP jumped by 2.9 percent and 0.8 percent m-o-m in the first quarter.
The finance ministry is also predicting that the economy, driven by the automotive industry and EU exports, will grow by 2.5 percent in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The ministry added that inflation will likely be low at 0.6 percent, despite the Czech National Bank’s forex interventions, which significantly weakened the crown against foreign currencies. However, inflation is expected to increase by 1.7 percent next year, which is still below the central bank’s 2-percent target.
