Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Poland’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2023 from 1.1 percent to 0.7 percent and maintained its earlier projection of a 2.6 percent growth in 2024.
“With the energy crisis in Europe less severe than expected and energy commodity prices falling significantly, we now project a better start to 2023,” Fitch wrote in a report. “Nevertheless, for the whole year, we forecast growth of 0.7 percent instead of the 1.1 percent we expected in December.”
Fitch expects domestic demand to remain weak as high inflation “has eroded real incomes and slowed consumer spending.”
The current level of Poland’s benchmark reference interest rate, which is at 6.75 percent, has had a negative impact on household spending and business investment decisions.
According to Fitch, Poland’s inflation will go down from January’s 17.2 percent to 10.5 percent by the end of the year, while the central bank will maintain a stable interest rate policy throughout the year. ■
