Polish GDP rose 4.3 per cent in 2011

Warsaw (dpa) - Poland‘s economy grew 4.3 per cent, compared to 3.9 per cent in 2010, the Central Statistical Office said Friday in a sign the country had maintained robust growth.

"This is a very good result. It means that we really have had a very good year behind us," Anna Zielinska-Glebocka, of the Polish central bank‘s Monetary Policy Council, told TVN 24.

Strong retail sales and public investments played a role in the growth, said Zielinska-Glebocka, which gave Poland a good start to "another difficult year." Analysts said a weak zloty helped keep Polish exports strong.

Poland, which has not yet adopted the euro currency, was the sole European Union member to avoid recession in 2009, and had managed relatively strong growth amid the euro zone crisis.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he expected Poland‘s GDP growth to be one of the best in the European Union. Growth would have been even higher if not for the euro zone crisis, Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski has said.

GDP growth in Poland is expected to slow to 2.5 per cent this year, however.

Retail sales in December grew 8.6 per cent year-on-year, a figure below analyst expectations of 10.3 per cent, the statistical office added.

Unemployment rates likewise disappointed analysts as they grew 12.5 per cent in December compared to 12.1 per cent in the previous month. dpa dam mga Author: Dominika Maslikowski