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Russia dips into the pre-election playbook Russia’s government this week unveiled new lump-sum payments to pensioners and military personnel ahead of September’s election, strengthening our above-consensus views on inflation and rates. The government will …
27th August 2021
Recoveries across Emerging Europe accelerated in Q2 as the easing of virus restrictions pushed GDP to, or above, pre-pandemic levels in most countries and we think this momentum will continue in Q3. However, the recovery has been accompanied by a marked …
26th August 2021
Intermediate goods shortages and pandemic-related supply constraints across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are not going to disappear overnight and may hold back the pace of recovery in certain sectors. But they should eventually ease and we remain …
25th August 2021
Hungary’s central bank (MNB) raised its base rate by another 30bp, to 1.50%, as expected today but also dropped its commitment to raise interest rates on a monthly basis which suggests that the tightening cycle will probably slow after September’s …
24th August 2021
Israel’s central bank (BoI) sounded more cautious about the outlook at today’s MPC meeting given the rise in virus cases and tightening of containment measures. Provided the third booster jab is effective and restrictions are not tightened significantly, …
23rd August 2021
The past month has seen a growing divergence in COVID-19 outbreaks across the region, with cases still very low in Central Europe but surging in Israel and Turkey. Either way, it appears that restrictions will remain light touch and economic recoveries …
Fiscal risks bubbling under the surface in Romania Romania’s new finance minister, Dan Vilceanu, has a tough job ahead to keep the public finances on a sustainable path and this will be made all the harder by suggestions from PM Citu to spend the windfall …
20th August 2021
Retail sales drop, but industry continues to thrive Polish industrial production continued to expand at a solid pace in July while retail sales fell as the re-opening of the economy shifted spending away from goods. The big picture is that the economy …
The spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant has driven a sharp rise in virus cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Israel this month. Evidence of waning vaccine efficacy prompted the government to roll out third booster jabs at the start of …
18th August 2021
Re-opening boost pushes CEE economies above pre-pandemic levels The Q2 GDP data for Central and Eastern Europe revealed that the regional recovery gathered pace last quarter as economies reopened following virus waves in Q1. We expect the recovery to …
17th August 2021
Re-opening boost pushes economy far above pre-pandemic level The larger-than-expected 15.4% annualised expansion in Israeli GDP in Q2 took the economy to more than 3% above its pre-pandemic level. While we expect growth to slow markedly in Q3 as the …
16th August 2021
Strong GDP growth takes economy back to pre-pandemic level The larger-than-expected 10.3% y/y expansion in Russian GDP in Q2 suggests that the economy returned to its pre-pandemic level as growth was driven by broad-based strength across sectors. Growth …
13th August 2021
Wrapping up a week of instability in Poland Poland's political scene was thrust into uncertainty this week after President Duda dismissed Jaroslaw Gowin, the leader of one of the coalition partners, from his duties and his Agreement party pulled out of …
Strong GDP growth to give the NBP food for thought The 1.9% q/q expansion in Poland’s GDP in Q2 left the economy 0.5% above its pre-pandemic size and we expect another strong reading for Q3 as activity in consumer-facing sectors continues to recover. …
Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) left interest rates on hold at 19.00% today and, with inflation likely to remain elevated over the coming months and the economy having bounced back quickly from May’s lockdown, an easing cycle is unlikely to commence until …
12th August 2021
Economy bounces back quickly from lockdown Turkey’s industrial production and retail sales figures for June confirm that the economy bounced back quickly from May’s three-week lockdown. This, coming alongside the further jump in inflation in July, means …
The strength of mortgage and unsecured consumer lending in Russia has concerned the central bank and raises the threat of a build-up of financial vulnerabilities, but for now we think these risks are low. Since we last looked at Russia’s mortgage boom in …
9th August 2021
Strong core inflation to trigger further rate hikes Although Russian headline inflation came in at a slightly-weaker-than expected 6.5% y/y, that masked a worryingly strong rise in core inflation that’s likely to trigger further monetary tightening. We …
6th August 2021
NBP’s doves losing their nerve… A slew of comments from policymakers at the National Bank of Poland (NBP) this week suggest that the probability of the central bank delivering a rate hike before the end of this year has increased. Flash July CPI data …
The Czech National Bank (CNB) raised its two-week repo rate by 25bp to 0.75% at today’s meeting, and its communications signalled that policymakers will raise rates more quickly than they had previously signalled to tackle above-target inflation. We …
5th August 2021
The widening of Romania’s current account deficit to a 10-year high partly reflects a rise in foreign firms’ reinvested earnings which is not a concern. But the trade balance has also worsened and the share of the deficit financed by stable forms of …
3rd August 2021
Inflation jumps again, but CBRT unlikely to respond with rate hike The further jump in Turkey’s headline inflation rate to 19.0% y/y in July is unlikely to trigger an interest rate hike but it will delay the start of an easing cycle until the back end of …
Supply disruption weighing on output in Czechia and Poland The PMIs for July suggest that supply chain disruptions weighed on output in Czechia and Poland and continued to put upward pressure on prices. Meanwhile, the releases suggest that manufacturing …
2nd August 2021
CBRT conceding the fight against inflation? Turkey’s central bank raised its inflation forecasts in its latest Inflation Report and Governor Kavcioglu’s comments suggest that policymakers are unlikely to step up to the plate in the fight against …
30th July 2021
Weaker-than-expected rebound as economy re-opens The disappointing 0.6% q/q expansion of Czech GDP in Q2 suggests that industry may have fared worse than expected as input shortages took a greater toll on output. With virus restrictions easing further …
Sentiment drops back, price pressures building The EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicators showed a surprising fall in regional sentiment in July, but we suspect that this was a blip rather than the start of a trend. We still expect growth to be strong in Q3, …
29th July 2021
Russia’s recovery continues at a solid pace in Q2 Russian activity data for June showed that the economy expanded at a solid pace in Q2, with overall GDP probably returning to just shy of its pre-pandemic level. While the re-opening boost will fade in Q3, …
28th July 2021
The region’s economies have continued to rebound strongly over the past month as virus outbreaks have largely been contained and restrictions have been lifted. Surveys of sentiment in the services sector have surged and high-frequency mobility data have …
The larger-than-expected 30bp interest rate hike by Hungary’s central bank (MNB) today was accompanied by hawkish comments that send a strong message about its intention to bring inflation back to its target. The tightening cycle is likely to be sharper …
27th July 2021
Delta variant unlikely to derail the recovery Concerns have grown over the past week about the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 but high vaccine coverage across much of the region has reduced the risk that policymakers will be forced to reimpose …
23rd July 2021
Russia’s central bank (CBR) opted for a larger 100bp interest rate hike, to 6.50%, at today’s meeting and the accompanying communications provided clear guidance that the tightening cycle is nearing an end. With inflation likely to rise further and …
A rise in virus cases in Israel has prompted the government to re-impose restrictions on activity, including mask mandates and vaccine certification for large events. There are signs that the Pfizer vaccine may be much less effective at preventing …
Overview – Rapid recoveries are underway across the region and GDP should return close to its pre-pandemic path sooner than in most other EM regions. While the spread of highly transmissible virus strains poses the greatest threat to the near-term …
21st July 2021
Economy loses a bit of momentum in June Polish industrial production and retail sales figures for June suggest that the rebound in economic activity softened a touch at the end of Q2, but GDP still looks to have expanded by 2.0% q/q in Q2. We think the …
Russian inflation shows no sign of letting up and looks set to remain above the central bank’s 4% target until at least the end of next year. With households’ inflation expectations also rising, we think the central bank will feel the need to step up the …
19th July 2021
Israel’s virus wave could be a warning for others The experience of Israel in recent weeks serves as a reminder that vaccine campaigns across Emerging Europe still have some way to go and that we are likely to have to learn to live with COVID long term. …
16th July 2021
Still few signs of widespread pressures building The rise in headline inflation in Israel to a near 8-year high of 1.7% y/y in June was largely a result of base effects that pushed up food inflation. The muted 0.1% m/m rise in prices suggests that …
15th July 2021
Industry holds up well but retail suffers during three-week lockdown Turkey’s activity figures for May, the month of a three-week national lockdown, showed that the industrial sector came through unscathed but that retail sales were hit hard. More timely …
13th July 2021
MNB to stay hawkish for now The surprisingly large rise in Hungarian inflation to 5.3% y/y in June – its highest rate in almost nine years – suggests that the risks to our interest rate forecast are skewed to the upside. The central bank (MNB) took a …
9th July 2021
Poland’s central bank left interest rates on hold today and, while it revised up its GDP growth and inflation forecasts, there was little sign in the accompanying press statement that the balance on the MPC has shifted further away from the ultra-dovish …
8th July 2021
Inflation rise will spook CBR The further rise in Russian inflation to a stronger-than-expected 6.5% y/y in June means the central bank (CBR) is likely to up the pace of tightening when it meets in a couple of weeks. A 75bp hike (to 6.25%) seems most …
7th July 2021
Turkish inflation hit a two-year high in June and recent domestic energy price hikes will cause it to rise even further over the next couple of months. High inflation and signs of a quick recovery from May’s lockdown mean that the central bank will …
Israel’s strong economic recovery prompted the central bank to phase out one of its emergency support programmes at today’s meeting and Governor Yaron’s comments suggest that the next step towards policy normalisation may involve the end of the bond …
5th July 2021
Inflation picks up, start of easing cycle likely to be delayed The fresh rise in Turkey’s headline inflation rate to 17.5% y/y in June, coupled with signs of a strong rebound in activity after May’s three-week lockdown, means that an interest rate cut in …
CBRT unlikely to win the war with dollarisation Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) took steps this week to tackle deposit dollarisation in the banking sector, but these efforts will fail to make headway in the absence of a stronger commitment to rein in high …
2nd July 2021
The Russian ruble appreciated to a one-year high against the dollar recently but we think the rally will fade as oil prices fall back and US Treasury yields rise further. That said, the central bank’s determination to rein in inflation should keep Russian …
Another strong batch of activity data for May suggest that Russia’s economy may have returned to just shy of its pre-pandemic level in Q2. The foundations are in place for the recovery to continue in Q3, but the latest virus wave and the possibility of a …
1st July 2021
Price pressures continue to mount The PMIs for June suggest that manufacturing sectors strengthened in Turkey, Czechia and Poland but weakened in Russia. Meanwhile, in Czechia and Poland, supply chain disruptions intensified, and there was further …
Strong recovery continues, price pressures building The EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicators showed a further rise in regional sentiment in June, driven by improvements in retail and services sectors. That said, there is also continued evidence of growing …
29th June 2021
Virus clouds lift over Turkey’s outlook The sharp improvement in Turkey’s virus situation has brightened the near-term outlook and presents a risk to our view that the central bank will start an aggressive easing cycle in the coming months. The number of …
25th June 2021
