Fitch, one of the world’s "Big Three" credit rating agencies, cited Poland's "diversified economy," coupled with "a fairly sound macroeconomic framework anchored by EU membership and slightly lower public debt levels than rated peers."
The agency said it expected Polish GDP growth to "slow to only 0.7 percent in 2023, driven by weak domestic consumption."
It added that "the slowdown in economic activity appears to be bottoming out, with stronger-than-expected momentum" in private investment and export performance in the first quarter of this year.
"Combined with falling inflation over the coming months and improved external conditions, this should lead to stronger growth" in the second half of 2023, Fitch said.
It added that "the labour market will remain a supportive factor, although employment prospects will weaken compared with previous years."
"We maintain our forecasts of relatively positive medium-term growth (between 3.0-3.5 percent), thanks to a combination of strong investment dynamics, high productivity and a normalisation of consumption trends as inflation eases," Fitch also said on Friday.
The Polish economy contracted 0.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the state-run Statistics Poland agency.
The European Commission last month revised upward its forecast for Polish economic growth this year to 0.7 percent, from a previous projection of 0.4 percent.
The Polish government this month adopted plans to amend the country’s budget for 2023, in a move aiming to channel more funds for the public sector, agriculture and defence amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to officials.
The revised budget for 2023 expects the economy to grow 0.9 percent, instead of the original 1.7 percent estimate.
Meanwhile, inflation is targeted at 12 percent, up from a previous target of 9.8 percent.
(gs)
Source: PAP, fitchratings.com, gov.pl