But analysts say Poland is still perceived as leading the way in terms of GDP growth in the EU, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
PKO BP chief economist Piotr Bujak said the bank’s revised forecast was prompted by "dark clouds gathering over the global economy" and the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.
PKO BP also raised its inflation forecast for Poland this year from 3.4 to 3.8 percent. It added that it expected inflation to peak this quarter and then fall from April onward.
Poland’s prime minister said last week that despite a global slowdown, the country’s economy was likely to grow around 3.3 percent this year and next.
Polish GDP grew 3.1 percent in the final quarter of 2019, according to a flash estimate by the country’s Central Statistical Office. GDP grew 3.9 percent in the third quarter.
Finance Minister Tadeusz Kościński said that the Polish economy had grown 4 percent over the whole of last year.
The Polish parliament earlier this month voted through a balanced budget that expects the economy to grow 3.7 percent this year, with inflation targeted at 2.5 percent.
(pk)
Source: IAR