Comment by Jaromír Šindel, Chief Economist of the CBA: January show stable economic sentiment, but industry continues to be plagued by weak demand with negative consequences for investment. On the other hand, consumer purchasing plans remain full of optimism, also thanks to both lower price expectations, which are dampened by industry but not services, and better expectations on the labour market, where the service sector, which is lacking more workers, is making a positive contribution. Thus, it looks like continued solid economic growth this year with noticeably lower headline inflation. This combination is likely to shift the discussion at the CNB from rate stability or growth to rate stability or a possible decline, which is, however, not certain given the ongoing "services inflation" and the change in fiscal policy settings.