Beating earlier estimates, the Czech economy grew by 2.5 percent y-o-y and 0.4 percent q-o-q in the first three months of 2014, according to the Czech Statistical Office. The Q1 performance marks a three-year high. A mid-May forecast predicted the GDP see just a 2-percent increase y-o-y, while remaining flat q-o-q. The Czech economy is only 0.3 percent below its Q3 2011 level.
The current quarter figures benefited from an increase in both foreign and domestic demand as well as from a very low comparison base, according to the Czech Statistical Office, noting that Q1 2013 was the weakest economic performance of the last four years.
