According to a revised estimate, the Czech economy grew by 4.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. The Czech Statistical Office (CSO) announced this on Thursday, thus improving its estimate from the end of May when it said the growth of 4.8 percent.

Quarter-on-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth remained at 0.9 percent. In contrast, the economy’s performance declined year-on-year in the first quarter of last year, adversely affected by the covid-19 disease pandemic.

In May, statisticians had said that household final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation were the main contributors to the strengthening performance of the economy compared to last year.

On the contrary, foreign demand harmed GDP development. They added in the report that actual household consumption increased by three percent yearly and fell by 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter. The household savings rate declined year on year and quarter-on-quarter.

“The aggregate of households’ real cash and non-cash income per capita fell by 5.6 percent in Q1 compared to the previous quarter and by 4.4 percent year-on-year, mainly due to high price growth,” said Vladimír Kermiet, director of the CSO’s National Accounts Department.

The average monthly income from employment reached CZK 38 610 in Q1. Compared to the previous quarter, it decreased by 8.3 percent in real terms and by 4.4 percent year-on-year. According to the statisticians, the higher quarter-on-quarter decline in total household income than in household expenditure resulted in a lower savings rate of 16.1 percent.

Quarter-on-quarter, the household savings rate was down four percentage points, and year-on-year, it was down eight percentage points. The household investment rate was up half a percent from the previous quarter and up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year, reaching ten percent.

For non-financial corporations, both the profit rate and the investment rate rose quarter-on-quarter, while the profit rate fell and the investment rate rose year-on-year. In Q1, the profit rate was 44.8 percent, and the investment rate was 29.4 percent.

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