Loose fiscal policy in CEE, Russia’s natural gas windfall

Government draft budgets approved for 2022 this week in Czechia and Poland and further details of social support in Hungary suggest that fiscal policy will remain supportive of growth in Central Europe. But with spare capacity increasingly limited, this will continue to fuel strong inflation pressures. Meanwhile, European gas prices surged to new highs this week and Russia will be one of the main beneficiaries - gas exports could be as much as $75bn higher in the second half of the year than would otherwise have been the case. This will also support the budget position and may prompt the government to further relax its grip on the public finances.