Polish economy begins 2019 on strong footing, retail sales likely to have accelerated in January

Poland’s initial hard data for 2019 show that the biggest economy in Central Europe is still doing quite well in spite of a visible deceleration in the German manufacturing. The data published yesterday and today by the Polish Statistical Office showed that the real wages rose 6.5 percent year-on-year and industrial production grew 7.5 percent year-on-year.

Taking into account still strong dynamic of the corporate employment, one must admit that it actually looks as a pretty good beginning of the Polish economy this year, said KBC Market Research in a report.

While there might be some seasonal factors that could temporarily stimulate wages or production of electricity in January, it still appears that the performance of the Polish economy in the first quarter might be very good again.

The retail sales data for January is set to release tomorrow. According to an Erste Group Research report, the Polish retail sales are expected to have accelerated in January following the disappointing data in December. The retail sales are likely to have grown 6.5 percent on a year-on-year basis. As consumer sentiment continues to be solid and the labor market has been tight, solid growth of retail sales is expected, added Erste Group Research.