FX.co ★ Poland Q2 GDP Contracts Less Than Estimated; Inflation Rises Further

Poland's economy contracted less than initially estimated in the three months ended June, while consumer price inflation continued its rising trend in August, data from Statistics Poland showed on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product fell 2.1 percent sequentially in the second quarter, reversing a 2.5 percent growth in the first quarter. The second quarter figure was revised from a 2.3 percent fall reported initially on August 17.

Further, this was the first decline since the third quarter of 2020.

On a year-on-year basis, GDP growth eased notably to 4.7 percent in the June quarter from 9.2 percent in the March quarter. In the initial estimate, the rate of expansion was 4.5 percent.

Seasonally unadjusted GDP also grew at a slower pace of 5.5 percent annually versus an 8.5 percent increase in the previous quarter. The latest figure was revised up from 5.3 percent.

Separate flash data released by the statistical office showed that consumer price inflation climbed to 16.1 percent in August from 15.6 percent in July. In contrast, economists had forecast inflation to slow to 15.4 percent.

The upward trend in inflation was largely driven by a 40.3 percent jump in energy prices. This was followed by a 17.4 percent surge in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in August versus an expected increase of 0.2 percent.