Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Turkish local elections, Russian GDP figures Concerns about Turkey’s economy and financial markets are unlikely to fade even once Sunday’s local elections are out of the way. If anything, we think that they will intensify. Meanwhile, expected... 29th March 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Strong data, Turkish MPC in a bind, Hungary rates The first batch of hard activity data for February out of Emerging Europe – published this week in Russia and Poland – were surprisingly strong, but it seems unlikely that this will be sustained as... 22nd March 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Ukrainian election, signs of stimulus in Russia Pro-IMF comments this week from the front-runner in Ukraine’s presidential election race (and comedian), Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reduce the risk that this month’s vote could trigger an adverse reaction... 15th March 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Turkish lira stumbles, Russian and CEE rates The Turkish lira has been one of the worst-performing EM currencies this week which, in part at least, seems to reflect investors no longer buying the central bank’s hawkish rhetoric. Elsewhere... 8th March 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Central European exports, PMI weakness & Polish stimulus The breakdown of the Central European Q4 GDP figures released this week showed that the surprisingly strong growth rates were driven by a rebound in exports, which appears to be related to a one-off... 1st March 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Weaker growth, central banks’ dovish turn Data published over the past week provided further evidence that the region’s economies slowed at the start of this year. This, coming alongside lower inflation, has resulted in a dovish shift by... 22nd February 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly CEE core inflation rising, CBRT considering backdoor easing? Data released this week showing a pick-up in core inflation in Hungary and the Czech Republic support our view that, unless the activity figures take a sharp turn for the worse, central banks in both... 15th February 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Russian GDP controversy, CEE slowdown The much stronger-than-expected Russian GDP growth figure for 2018, released this week, led to accusations that Rosstat is manipulating the figures, but we think that these data actually paint a... 8th February 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Russia’s budget surplus, CBRT more hawkish The budget surplus recorded in Russia in 2018 has put the spotlight on austerity measures, but it actually looks like fiscal policy will provide more support to the economy this year than it did in... 1st February 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Regional slowdown worsens, nervous MPCs A raft of weak activity and survey data released this week reinforces our relatively downbeat view on the outlook for growth across Emerging Europe this year. Slowing growth seems to be worrying some... 25th January 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Hawks in Hungary, Erdogan’s enhanced economic powers Hawkish comments from Hungary’s MPC this week support our view that monetary policy will be tightened by more than is priced into markets. Meanwhile, emergency economic powers granted to Turkey’s... 18th January 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly CBRT to loosen policy, rapid CEE growth unlikely to last Further evidence this week that the Turkish economy is in the midst of a severe recession adds to the reasons to expect that the MPC will cut interest rates next week. Meanwhile, another batch of... 11th January 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly CEE bond rally to reverse, Turkish elections and rate cuts Investors pared back their expectations for interest rate hikes in Central Europe this week, but we still think that a fresh pick-up in inflation will prompt more monetary tightening than most... 4th January 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Romania to tighten purse strings, Turkey in recession The Romanian government’s measures to tighten fiscal policy next year, announced on Wednesday, support our long-held view that GDP growth will slow by more than most expect in 2019. Meanwhile, the... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Hungary courts controversy, Russian economy picking up The creation of a controversial parallel new court system in Hungary – signed into law on Wednesday – will bring the government into further conflict with Brussels, but the economic impact is only... 14th December 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Turkish MPC to sound dovish, CEE made strong start to Q4 Signs of softer inflation and weak economic activity will almost certainly prompt the Turkish MPC to strike a dovish tone at Thursday’s meeting. Investors seem to share our concerns that policymakers... 7th December 2018 · 1 min read