. The first quarter GDP growth,
which came at 4.4 %, was a trigger. The
growth was even higher than our upmarket
forecast of 4 %. Moreover, it’s pretty
positive for the koruna since the growth is
completely drive by record trade surplus. On
the contrary, domestic demand was weaker
than in the previous quarter. Hence that’s
not a signal to the central bank to consider a
change in its monetary policy. The positive
sentiment was also supported by the April
industrial output, which was also higher than
expected, namely 5.7 % y/y. However, the
koruna didn’t hold earlier gains, because
sentiment change in the region. The Polish
zloty brought koruna under correction as
political worries reemerged. In the end, the
koruna closed the session little changed
compared to Wednesday.
(CSOB - Investment research)