Emerging Europe Economics Update Romania’s easing cycle nearing an end The Romanian central bank cut interest rates again today against the backdrop of weak growth and falling inflation. However, the Bank lowered rates by less than it did in August due, it seems, to... 30th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s external debt burden not a cause for concern (yet) A recent warning from Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister has led to renewed concerns about the country’s growing burden of external debt. But while debt has risen sharply in recent quarters, we don’t... 30th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Recovery gains momentum September’s European Commission Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) allow us to form an early view of how Emerging Europe has performed in Q3, and the good news is that the recovery seems to be... 27th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Improving Czech economy reduces need for FX intervention The strengthening of the Czech economy is preventing the National Bank from plumping for furtherpolicy easing, namely FX intervention to weaken the koruna. With the economic recovery still fragile... 26th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Few signs of EM inflation pressures Emerging market inflation edged down in August and there’s little evidence to suggest that there will be a significant rise in price pressures over the coming months. 24th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update A little further to go in Hungary’s easing cycle Following today’s cut in Hungarian interest rates, we are revising our year-end rate forecast to 3.00% from 3.50%. With inflation below target and the economic recovery still fragile, it looks like... 24th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Central Europe has muted reaction to QE tapering delay The reaction of the financial markets in Central Europe to the US Fed’s decision to hold off tapering QE was decidedly muted. But these countries’ markets didn’t suffer the large sell-offs seen... 24th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian economy continues to struggle The weakness of August’s activity data for Russia is partly due to working day effects since August of this year had one fewer working day than August of 2012. Even so, today’s data reinforce our view... 18th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish policymakers waiting for “taper” reaction Having been promised “surprise” measures to shore up the lira by Governor Basci, today’s Turkish rate setting meeting was a non-event. Policymakers appear to be waiting to see how the financial... 17th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Have Emerging Europe’s banks turned the corner? Emerging Europe has been the laggard of the emerging world over the past few years, due in large part to problems in its banks. But with the region seemingly on the mend, might local banking sectors... 17th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia rate overhaul won’t alter monetary conditions The Central Bank of Russia today laid out plans to revamp and streamline the instruments through which it provides liquidity to banks. Over time, these should help to increase transparency but they... 13th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukraine: hryvnia’s stability masks underlying weakness At first sight, the stability of the hryvnia over the past few months suggests that Ukraine has been relatively insulated from the sharp sell-off in other emerging markets. But a closer look reveals... 11th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish growth looking increasingly unsustainable Following today’s stronger-than-expected Turkish Q2 GDP data, we are revising up our growth forecast for this year as a whole. However, growth was driven by credit-fuelled consumer spending and a... 10th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia dwindling current account surplus: causes & consequences Despite continued high oil prices, Russia’s current account surplus has fallen from around 7% of GDP prior to the 2008/09 crisis to around 2% now and is on track to slip into a deficit by 2015. Given... 6th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Shift towards tighter policy in Poland looks some way off Governor Belka provided few clues at his post-MPC press conference about when the Polish National Bank might shift towards tightening mode. But with the economic recovery unlikely to be accompanied by... 4th September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Q2 recovery supported by strengthening euro-zone The breakdown of GDP data for Central and South Eastern Europe confirmed that the acceleration in growth seen in Q2 was largely a result of stronger demand from the euro-zone. But there were also... 4th September 2013 · 1 min read
