EC downgrades Czech GDP growth estimate for 2024 to 1 percent

The European Commission (EC) in its new forecast downgraded the estimate of this year's growth of the Czech economy to 1 percent from 1.2 percent in the spring forecast. The Czech economy will expand by 2.4 percent next year, the EC said. In the spring, it predicted a 2.8 percent expansion.

The Commission also forecast today that GDP growth would reach 2.7 percent in 2026. Household spending to be supported by real wage growth coupled with a fall in inflation should be the main driver of GDP growth, the EC said.

The Commission expects inflation to be 2.7 percent this year and to fall to 2.4 percent next year. It should drop to 2 percent, the Czech National Bank's (CNB) target, in 2026.