Emerging Europe Economics Update Investment the weak spot in Turkey’s recovery Turkey’s economy has made a strong recovery from its recession last year, but investment has continued to fall and is unlikely to make a quick turnaround over the next couple of years. 31st October 2019 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s easing cycle shifts up a gear The Russian central bank’s decision to opt for a 50bp rate cut today (to 6.50%) and the dovish tone of the accompanying statement support our view that the easing cycle has further to run. As things... 25th October 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CBRT: further easing, but rates to go up by mid-2020 September’s plunge in inflation alongside the removal of US sanctions gave the Turkish central bank the green light to deliver another larger-than-expected interest rate cut today and the easing cycle... 24th October 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian retail sales set for a tepid recovery The weakness in Russian retail sales looks close to bottoming out, but any turnaround will be modest. This is one reason to think that the overall recovery in GDP growth will be weak and that the... 23rd October 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey and sanctions: the calm before the storm? Turkey’s financial markets have taken the US sanctions imposed yesterday in their stride, but the threat of harsher measures in the context of the country’s weak external position could result in a... 15th October 2019 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Revisiting the vulnerabilities in Turkey’s banking sector The growing threat of sanctions on Turkey in relation to its recent incursion into Syria have already put significant downward pressure on Turkish financial assets and fragilities in the banking... 14th October 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey and the latest sanctions threat The prospect of Turkish military action in Syria has again raised the spectre of US sanctions. While these would probably be on the soft end of the spectrum, Turkey’s poor external position means that... 8th October 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian MPC looks set to delay tightening further The deterioration in the external environment and willingness of the Hungarian MPC to look through above-target inflation means that monetary conditions are unlikely to change over the next twelve... 20th September 2019 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: lessons from previous easing cycles Turkey’s central bank looks set to cut interest rates further over the coming months, but past experience suggests that the easing cycle will be short and that renewed lira weakness will eventually... 17th September 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CBRT: more near-term rate cuts, but hikes loom in 2020 The Turkish central bank delivered another larger-than-expected interest rate cut today and we now expect the one-week repo rate to reach a trough at 12.50% (previously 16.00%). But if we’re right in... 12th September 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish MPC downplays talk of tightening The more dovish-than-expected press conference following today’s MPC meeting confirmed that the Polish central bank is placing more weight on concerns about the weak external environment than domestic... 11th September 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CEE currencies will continue to struggle We doubt that Central and Eastern European (CEE) currencies will be able to regain any of the ground they have lost against the euro over the next year or so. The Hungarian forint is likely to be the... 9th September 2019 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: CBR governor keeps door open to easing Russian central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, used the post-meeting press conference to hint at a possible further rate cut by year-end, supporting our view that the easing cycle has further to... 6th September 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Recovery in Hungarian bank lending unlikely to last The recovery in Hungarian private sector credit has been an important driver of GDP growth in recent years, but we think that the credit boom doesn’t have much further to run. 21st August 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Rising Polish inflation won’t prompt policy change The rise in Polish inflation to a seven-year high in July and likelihood that it will stay above target over the next 18 months will keep the focus of the MPC on tightening. But we don’t think this... 14th August 2019 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Time to worry about Russia’s household credit boom? The recent pace of Russian household lending looks frothy, but the central bank already appears to have taken some of the steam out of the credit boom. Even if household loans start turning sour... 8th August 2019 · 3 mins read