Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s 2015 budget: a fiscal squeeze is looming The assumptions underpinning Russia’s 2015 budget, currently working its way through parliament, look realistic, suggesting that the government is finally starting to wake up to the extent of the... 8th April 2015 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor Will Russia’s sovereign credit spread keep falling? Russia’s bond market continued to fare well in March. This may have reflected a growing sense that the risk of a financial crisis in the country has passed in the wake of emergency rate hikes late... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s recession spreading unevenly across the economy The slump in Russia’s economy has been spreading unevenly across various sectors with consumers bearing the brunt of the economy’s problems. By contrast, the hit to the manufacturing sector has so far... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Mar.) March’s manufacturing PMIs in Emerging Europe were something of a mixed bag, with the figures providing further evidence that the Turkish and Russian economies weakened, although in the latter... 2nd April 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Shifting sands: why the outlook for the BRICs is starting to diverge The prospects for the four largest emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are starting to diverge. The outlook for India is improving and, despite a recent run of poor data, we think... 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Central Europe shaping up well at the start of 2015 Despite concerns about deflation, a recession in Russia and sluggishness in the euro-zone, the latest data out of Central Europe have been surprisingly robust. Industrial production growth has... 25th March 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb. 15) World Steel Association (WSA) data for February show a 4.6% m/m fall in global steel output, led by Asian producers. However, data for the first two months of the year suggest it is too soon to factor... 20th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update A looming fall in gas exports adds to concerns in Russia Because Russia’s export gas price seems to follow oil prices with a six to nine month lag, the recent fall in oil prices has not yet fully fed into Russia’s gas export earnings. Admittedly, gas... 20th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Retail Sales, Investment & Ind. Prod. (Feb.) Working day effects exacerbated the weakness in February’s activity data from Russia but don’t change the bigger picture of an economy sliding deeper into recession. Consumers are still bearing the... 19th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukrainian bonds fall further as debt talks start The start of debt restructuring negotiations in Ukraine has been accompanied by further losses on the country’s foreign currency government bonds. Meanwhile, currencies in Central Europe have weakened... 17th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian Central Bank cuts rates further Today’s decision by the Central Bank of Russia to cut its benchmark one-week repo rate by 100bps appears to have been driven by the stabilisation of the ruble over the past month. Barring a renewed... 13th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia CPI (Feb.) Russian inflation continued to accelerate in February, rising to its fastest pace, at 16.7% y/y, in more than a decade. We think inflation is close to peaking, but the big picture is that it’s likely... 5th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ruble rally largely explained by oil rebound The ruble has sold off today but this follows strong gains in recent weeks that made it the best performing EM currency in February. There are several factors that could explain the rebound in the... 2nd March 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Europe able to weather any disruption in Russian gas supplies We do not expect the latest dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas to disrupt the supply to Western Europe. But even if did, the EU should still be able to cope reasonably well as warmer... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Russian consumers feel the squeeze The latest data have given mixed signals on the performance of Emerging Europe’s economies. The encouraging news is that growth in much of Central Europe (particularly Poland and Hungary) seems to be... 25th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Retail Sales, Investment & Ind. Prod. (Jan.) The release of January’s activity data for Russia was delayed by two hours today but when they finally arrived they brought further evidence that consumers are bearing the brunt of the economy’s... 18th February 2015 · 1 min read
