Emerging Europe Economics Update A fresh look at Turkey’s banking sector risks The plunge in the lira and rise in borrowing costs is likely to push the Turkish economy into a technical recession in the second half of this year. But the vulnerabilities that have built up in the... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: another emergency rate hike? The Turkish lira has recovered some of its losses in the past few hours, but the plunge in the currency over the past few weeks is now on a scale which has, in the past, prompted the central bank to... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What impact would sanctions on Russian sovereign debt have? A bill presented in the US Senate yesterday has raised the threat of US sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. Were the bill to pass, we think it might plausibly add a premium of about 50-100bp to the... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Czech MPC: Another hike on the cards in November The new forecasts accompanying today’s Czech MPC meeting – at which the policy interest rate was raised by 25bp – suggest that another hike is likely in November. In 2019, we think that interest rates... 2nd August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: assessing the fallout from US sanctions The sanctions imposed by the US on two Turkish government ministers in themselves aren’t very big, but it looks likely that more measures will be announced. The lira is likely to fall further... 2nd August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: here comes the slowdown The latest hard activity data from Turkey has been surprisingly robust, but more timely survey evidence and low-profile data suggest that a sharp slowdown is underway. Officials are reportedly... 31st July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s central bank leaves door open to easing The Russian central bank’s post-meeting statement once again sounded hawkish on inflation risks. But it also implied that interest rates could be lowered in 2019, supporting our view that the easing... 27th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey’s public finances: the last pillar to crumble President Erdogan’s growing influence over monetary policy leaves the public finances as the last remaining strong point of Turkey’s economy. But the budget position has deteriorated in recent years... 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary’s MPC: further hints that tightening is on the cards The Hungarian MPC’s post-meeting communications reinforced the message that the MPC is inching towards a tightening cycle. For our part, we think inflation is likely to rise further than most think... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish central bank bows to Erdogan The Turkish central bank’s decision to leave its one-week repo rate unchanged at 17.75%, when most had expected at least a 100bp hike, suggests that President Erdogan is already using his strengthened... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish policymakers are the only doves left in town Poland’s MPC bucked the regional trend today by retaining its ultra-dovish stance. However, we think that Polish policymakers will soon start to follow their neighbours. Inflation is likely to rise... 11th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: what to make of Erdogan’s new economic powers? Moves over the past 24 hours by Turkey’s President Erdogan to consolidate his power is likely to result in pressure for looser monetary and fiscal policy, but this will ultimately come at the cost of... 10th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Romanian central bank tightening policy via the backdoor Although the National Bank of Romania left its key policy rate unchanged today, the Bank is using open market operations to tighten monetary conditions. We think that policymakers will return to... 4th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is Turkish inflation spiralling out of control? Yesterday’s stronger-than-expected consumer price figures from Turkey provides further evidence that falls in the lira are feeding through into higher inflation more quickly and to a greater extent... 4th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What should we make of Russia’s data revisions? The upwards revisions to Russia’s industrial production figures have raised concerns about the quality of the data but, based on the figures released so far, the new series does seem to reflect... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Czech Republic: More tightening in 2018 & 2019 The statement and press conference following today’s Czech MPC meeting – at which the Council resumed its tightening cycle – were on the hawkish side, supporting our view that further rate hikes are... 27th June 2018 · 1 min read
