The Czech economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a resurgence in coronavirus infections damped activity in Europe, preliminary data showed Tuesday.
Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent from the third quarter, when it rose 6.9 percent. That defied economists' expectation for a decline of 2.5 percent.
The expanded for a second quarter in a row.
GDP decreased 5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter after a 5.3 percent decline in the previous three months. Economists had forecast a 7.7 percent fall.
The decrease was caused mainly by a deepening slump in consumption expenditure of households, whereas external demand was significantly increasing, the agency said.
The economy shrank 5.6 percent for the full year 2020, logging the deepest slump in economic performance in the history of the independent Czech Republic.
The decline was influenced mainly by household consumption, investment expenditure and also by a slump in external demand in the first half-year when the coronavirus pandemic spread. The general government expenditure grew.
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