Czech Central Bank Says Q1 GDP Growth Missed Its Forecast

The Czech National Bank say that the figures on economic activity released by the CZSO earlier today were "slightly lower than expected in the CNB’s spring forecast," although Czechia is "slowly coming out of a shallow recession which started in the second half of last year." The statistics office estimated Q1 GDP growth at -0.4% Y/Y versus the CNB's forecast of -0.2%.

• "The consumption of households, which are facing a deep decline in real income, decreased somewhat more markedly in Q1 than expected by the CNB. Fixed investment also recorded a deeper-than-forecasted decline."
• "Conversely, general government consumption grew faster than forecasted by the CNB. The contribution of net exports to economic growth was higher than forecasted, as year-on-year export growth remains strong at around 10% (...)."
• "According to the baseline scenario of the CNB’s spring macroeconomic forecast, economic activity will grow by around 3% in 2024. The scenario does not include the impacts of the government’s fiscal consolidation package introduced in May."