Czech economic growth likely accelerated strongly in Q4 2016, to rise further in 2017

The Czech Republic’s economic growth is expected to have accelerated at the end of 2016. According to a Societe Generale research report, the Czech economy is likely to have expanded strongly by 0.8 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, as compared with a subdued growth of 0.2 percent recorded in the third quarter.

All the main components on the demand side, except the inventory, are expected to have underpinned the economic dynamics. Inventory was volatile. Household consumption is likely to have mainly driven the growth; however, investment activity is expected to have rebounded modestly, while the external trade balance has also improved slightly. The Czech economy, for the whole of 2016, is likely to have grown 2.5 percent.

“The forward-looking indicators suggest that the positive trends have spilled over into the beginning of this year. We expect economic growth to accelerate slightly in 2017, printing at 2.7 percent”, added Societe Generale.