Large rise in industrial output

According to figures from Statistics Poland, industrial output as measured by sales in 2020 increased by 14.4 pct compared to the previous year when it fell by 1.9 pct. Last year’s rise was the highest since the economic changes that began at the end of the 1980s. Rises were recorded for all sectors of industry with the highest rises seen in electricity generation as well as steam, hot water and gas supply (29.5 pct compared to a fall of 1.9 pct in 2020). Industrial production rose by 14.2 pct while water waste disposal, sewerage and recultivation output rose by 10.7 pct. The PMI figures for Polish industry in January 2022 stood at 54.5 still showing strong economic growth, however they had weakened slightly compared to December when they stood at 56.1. January also saw a slowdown in the growth of production (the slowest it has been since October) as well as in new orders (the lowest figures since September). According to IHS Markit, the factors that have limited production growth are mainly the difficulties in acquiring raw materials and rising prices. The Polish Industrial Sector IHS Markit PMI® is a complex index that captures the condition of Polish industry and is calculated on the basis of five sub-indices: new orders, production, employment, delivery times and purchased stock. For the 19^th month in a row, the index has remained above the neutral figure of 50.0.