The Czech Republic's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by record 6.5 per cent in 2007 on the back of rising employment and labour productivity, the Czech Statistical Office said Friday, according to dpa. The economy however grew last year slightly below forecasted 6.6 per cent, the statisticians said. "We've seen three years of superb results in the Czech Republic," Raiffeisenbank analyst Ales Michl said referring to the string of above 6-per-cent GDP growth in recent years. "It is a shame that politicians did not employ the growth to have balanced budgets," he said. In the fourth quarter, the GDP grew 6.6 per cent year-on-year, also below estimates, but above 6.4 per cent in previous quarters, the office said. "Several one-time influences" such as a rise in road repairs and an increased performance of the healthcare sector had helped to accelerate the fourth-quarter growth, Michl said. In a year-end frenzy before introduction of direct payments in healthcare and a hike in value-added tax (VAT), Czechs filled doctor's offices and stocked up on groceries, analysts said. "All Czechs went to the doctor's to avoid paying 30 koruny (1.83 dollars) for a visit in January," Michl said. The analyst said that the Czech economy is to slow down to some 4.5 to 5 per cent in 2008, as consumers are expected to spend less on the back of rising interest rates and VAT. Czech exporters are also expected to perform less well this year due to strong koruna, record-high commodity prices and potential eurozone slowdown, Michl said.
