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Inflation showing no sign of turning a corner Inflation continued to fall sharply in Russia in August, to 14.3% y/y, and there’s little standing in the way of another interest rate cut by the central bank next week. We expect a 50bp reduction to 7.50%. …
9th September 2022
CEE and the Nord Stream 1 gas shut-off The indefinite closure of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline by Russia late last Friday has added to the risks around energy supply in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and presents downside risks to our GDP growth …
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) slowed down the pace of its tightening cycle again today with a 25bp rate hike to 6.75%. There was no new guidance in the communications in terms of the central bank’s next move, but with policymakers seemingly more …
7th September 2022
NBP brings its tightening cycle to a close The National Bank of Poland (NBP) slowed down the pace of its tightening cycle again today with a 25bp interest rate hike to 6.75%, and with policymakers seemingly more concerned about the deteriorating economic …
Inflation surpasses 80% milestone Inflation hit 80.2% y/y in Turkey in August, breaching 80% for the first time since 1998. Even so, the central bank is likely to remain beholden to President Erdogan’s wishes for looser policy and it seems that further …
5th September 2022
Q2 GDP figures show a mixed performance across the region, with economies most exposed to the war in Ukraine hit hard while the largest economies in the region generally held up well. But given the mounting economic headwinds, there are plenty of reasons …
2nd September 2022
Mixed bag, but contractions in industry likely in Q3 Manufacturing PMIs for August were a mixed bag, with further signs that Russian industry is recovering while PMIs in Turkey, Poland and Czechia remained weak and are consistent with contractions in …
1st September 2022
Early signs of economy stabilising Russia’s industrial production and retail sales figures for July were stronger than expected and provide the first tangible evidence that the downturn in the economy is bottoming out. Industrial production posted an …
31st August 2022
Resilience so far, but much tougher times ahead Economies across the region were generally resilient in Q2 despite tightening financial conditions and the war in Ukraine. Russia’s downturn was milder than expected as it was able to re-orientate trade to …
Strong growth adds to inflation and external risks Turkey’s economy posted another robust quarter of growth in Q2, with GDP rising by 2.1% q/q, as stronger consumption and exports more than offset weaker investment. But strong growth is merely adding to …
MNB firmly focused on inflation and the forint Hungary’s central bank (MNB) continued with its aggressive tightening cycle today as it raised its base rate by another 100bp, to 11.75%. It’s clear that the MNB is struggling to contain very strong and …
30th August 2022
Sentiment falls again as growth momentum evaporates The EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicators for Central and Eastern Europe for August continued the trend in recent months of very weak data releases for the region and point to a sharp slowdown in GDP growth …
Governments step up support as gas prices soar Europe’s gas crisis deepened this week, with gas and electricity prices surging further into the stratosphere and governments stepping up policy support and shoring up energy supplies ahead of winter. The …
26th August 2022
Russia’s squeeze on the gas market helped it to generate $50bn (6% of GDP) in total gas exports in the first half of this year, 2-3 times more than normal. Russia’s balance of payments is in such a strong position that, if oil prices and oil exports …
25th August 2022
The Bank of Israel stepped up its tightening cycle with a 75bp interest rate hike, to 2.00%, today as it became more concerned about the strength of inflation. Our previously-hawkish view for interest rates to reach 3.0% now looks timid and we think a …
22nd August 2022
Stabilisation in July, but strong rebound unlikely in the months ahead July’s industrial production, retail sales and construction figures for Poland showed a stabilisation in activity after the surprise 2.3% q/q fall in GDP in Q2. But we expect the …
Turkey doubles down on unorthodoxy The surprise interest rate cut by Turkey’s central bank this week, despite inflation reaching close to 80% y/y in July, threatens to sow the seeds of the next currency crisis. After all, Turkey’s external position is …
19th August 2022
The war in Ukraine is dragging on, but there is now growing attention on the country’s eventual reconstruction. We think the government’s target of $750bn of total funding is unlikely to be met ($300-400bn seems more realistic). The primary focus of the …
Turkey’s central bank stepped up its fight against economic orthodoxy by cutting its one-week repo rate by 100bp, to 13.00%, despite the backdrop of inflation at 80% and an extremely poor external position. This latest move could prove to be the trigger …
18th August 2022
A mixed performance, with Poland getting the wrong headlines GDP in Hungary and Romania continued to expand strongly in Q2 by 1-2% q/q, but the Czech and Slovakian economies barely grew at all and there was a shocking 2.3% q/q contraction in Poland. …
17th August 2022
Economy comes roaring back The stronger-than-expected 6.8% q/q annualised expansion in Israel GDP in Q2 confirms that the Q1 contraction was just a blip. Economic activity remains strong and alongside the red-hot inflation figures for July, the risks are …
16th August 2022
Sanctions take their toll with historic fall in GDP Russian GDP contracted by 4% y/y in Q2, consistent with a fall of 6% in seasonally-adjusted q/q terms – a much better performance than analysts had expected and than had seemed likely a few months ago. …
12th August 2022
Hungary’s fiscal adjustment in full swing Hungary’s government has tightened the fiscal purse strings much more quickly than had looked likely since April’s election. This is positive as far as Hungary’s macro imbalances are concerned. But it is bad for …
Growth remained strong in Q2 Turkey’s activity figures for June painted a mixed picture, with industrial production continuing to post solid growth but retail sales suffering a fresh knock. The bigger picture, however, is that the economy appears to have …
Inflation pressures nowhere to be seen Russia’s month-on-month deflation deepened in July as consumer prices fell by a larger-than-expected 0.4% m/m (in y/y terms, the headline rate eased to 15.1%). The disinflationary impact of the strong ruble is likely …
10th August 2022
EU funds will provide a key boost to economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the coming years as the region navigates a challenging macro environment and slowing global growth. Disputes with the European Commission over the rule of law in Hungary …
With Russia tightening its squeeze on supply of gas to Europe, governments are turning their attention to other major gas exporters such as Qatar to try to fill the gap. But Qatar’s gas sector is already operating close to capacity and, while the North …
9th August 2022
The tide is turning on monetary policy in CEE The decision by the Czech central bank to keep its policy rate on hold this week, while Romania’s hiked rates, is representative of a growing divergence between central banks in the region. Poland’s central …
5th August 2022
The Czech National Bank (CNB) became the first major EM central bank to end its tightening cycle after it left its policy rate on hold at 7.00% today. The communications were not as dovish as we had expected, but the new-look MPC is clearly less inclined …
4th August 2022
Western sanctions have caused activity in certain sectors of Russia’s economy to collapse, but activity has held up reasonably well in key areas such as oil production and less import-dependent manufacturing. What’s clear, though, is that the full effect …
3rd August 2022
Inflation close to a peak, but will remain high The modest rise in Turkey’s headline inflation rate to 79.6% y/y in July suggests that inflation is nearing a peak, but it will remain close to these very high rates for several more months and will be slow …
PMIs point toward a contraction in industry Manufacturing PMIs for July fell to levels consistent with contractions in industrial production in Q3, with the exception of in Russia, where the downturn in manufacturing seems to have stabilised. There was an …
1st August 2022
Russian gas cut off raises energy supply risks The news flow this week continued to be dominated by concerns about energy supply this winter after Gazprom reduced gas exports to Europe further. The immediate consequence will be higher energy bills and an …
29th July 2022
Weakness in Q2, contraction likely in Q3 The 0.2% q/q expansion of Czech GDP in Q2 beat the consensus expectation for a small contraction, but it was roughly in line with what we had expected, and still marked a sharp slowdown in growth from Q1. We think …
The economic outlook has deteriorated across the region. Inflation is soaring and monetary conditions are tightening, which is weighing on households’ real incomes and spending power. The latest surveys show consumer confidence tanking and economic …
28th July 2022
Sentiment falls further, but price pressures show signs of easing The EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicators for Central and Eastern Europe showed declines across the region and across sectors in July, supporting our view that economies in the region are in …
Data pointing to a 9% contraction in Q2 The Russian industrial production figures for June were surprisingly strong, which likely reflects a pick-up in oil production. But retail sales remain depressed and show no sign of a turnaround. Our provisional …
27th July 2022
The decision by Gazprom to cut natural gas supplies to Europe to 20% of capacity has caused gas prices to surge and raised the risk of energy shortages during the winter. A full gas cut-off would result in self-inflicted pain for Russia. For the rest of …
Default and devaluation in Ukraine Policymakers in Ukraine devalued the hryvnia this week and asked creditors to suspend debt repayments, which will free up funds for the government, but will add to inflation and increase balance sheet problems elsewhere …
22nd July 2022
Romania’s current account deficit is likely to rise to almost 9% of GDP this year. While a weaker currency would help to reduce this shortfall, structural reforms are needed to boost competitiveness in the long term. Until then, Romania’s deteriorating …
21st July 2022
Economy now gripped in a slowdown The weak set of Polish industrial production and retail sales figures for June provide the strongest evidence yet that the economy is in the midst of a sharp slowdown. It is very likely that GDP contracted in q/q terms in …
Overview – Economies in Emerging Europe were resilient in the first half of this year, but the outlook has deteriorated markedly as headwinds have strengthened. Inflation is likely to continue rising and we think that GDP will do little more than stagnate …
20th July 2022
Energy rationing now a growing downside risk Governments ramped up efforts this week to prevent possible shortages of energy during the winter. But with the threat of lower Russian gas flows increasing, there is a growing risk of energy rationing that …
15th July 2022
Activity surpassing pre-currency crisis levels Turkey’s activity figures for May show that industrial production and retail sales have now both surpassed their highs from late-2021 despite the weight of sky-high inflation. With strong demand and high …
14th July 2022
The 200bp increase in the base rate (to 9.75%) by Hungary’s central bank (MNB) today has resulted in the most aggressive amount of monetary tightening in decades. With fiscal policy tightening too and the euro-zone on the verge of recession, all the signs …
12th July 2022
Inflation continues to drop back The further decline in Russia’s headline inflation rate to 15.9% y/y in June confirms that inflation has already passed its peak and we expect price pressures to ease further over the coming months. This is likely to …
8th July 2022
MNB pulls out all of the stops to support the forint Hungary’s economy is now under substantial pressure. The forint has slumped and interest rates have been hiked aggressively. The only way through this is to accept the pain of a weak currency and …
Surging global commodity prices have hit Central and Eastern European economies like a tsunami in recent months, causing a severe terms of trade shock and current account deficits to blow out. These deficits are likely to widen to 7% of GDP in Hungary and …
6th July 2022
The Bank of Israel (BoI) stepped up the pace of tightening today with a 50bp interest rate hike, to 1.25%, as it dropped its commitment to “gradual” interest rate hikes. This suggests that similar moves may be in the pipeline and supports our hawkish view …
4th July 2022
Threat from Turkey’s corporate FX debts grows Plans announced late last week by Turkey’s banking regulator add to the growing risks stemming from corporates’ large FX debt burdens. Late last Friday, the regulator announced that corporates will no longer …
1st July 2022
