Czech economy in 2002: record-low inflation

Gross domestic product continued to grow in 2002, faster than in the economies of most of the Czech Republic's major partners, albeit at a slower pace than in 2001. The major driving force of economic growth was private consumption, followed by government consumption. Investment demand registered a slowdown as an indirect result of weak foreign demand. 2002 was the year of record-low inflation in the history of the Czech Republic - at the end of the year, the consumer price index stood at 0.6 %. During 2002, nominal appreciation of the Czech currency accelerated - the koruna appreciated against the euro by almost ten per cent. The labor market was severely hit by the general economic slowdown and the unemployment rate anew reached the record-high level at the end of the year.