Chief Economist's Note This is not 2022: Why this energy shock demands a different policy response The surge in global oil and gas prices that has followed the outbreak of war with Iran has inevitably drawn comparisons with the energy shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago... 13th March 2026
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poland: gold reserve plan highlights fiscal pressures Proposals by Polish policymakers to use valuation gains from the central bank’s gold reserves to finance defence spending highlight the growing strain on the public finances from the large budget... 10th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Middle East conflict gives Russia an oil windfall Russia is a clear beneficiary from the conflict in the Middle East, with higher energy prices and, possibly, higher export volumes to Asia likely to narrow the budget deficit. But unless disruption to... 5th March 2026 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Four years of war takes its toll Four years of war have made Russia’s economy look increasingly fragile. Capacity constraints are biting and vulnerabilities are growing in the banking sector. Still, the economic cost of the war... 27th February 2026 · 6 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Four years of war: stagnation grips Russia’s economy Russia’s economy has proven remarkably resilient since the war in Ukraine began four years ago, underpinned by military-related stimulus, an ability to adapt to Western sanctions and disciplined... 23rd February 2026 · 15 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: a fiscal health check A dramatic late-year cut to spending helped Russia’s government meet its deficit target of 2.6% of GDP last year. This does not signal that fiscal strains are forcing President Putin to scale back the... 29th January 2026 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Ukraine support, CEE rate hikes? There has been further wrangling ahead of the EU leaders’ summit next week about providing a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. Given Ukraine’s dependence on European support, failure to reach agreement... 12th December 2025 · 8 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Russia & China: a “no limits” partnership with limits Russia and China declared a “no limits” partnership in 2022, but the economic limits to the relationship have become increasingly clear. Chinese FDI in Russia remains low, bilateral trade is... 25th November 2025 · 19 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Ukraine peace plan, Hungary rates, Israel’s recovery Details of the latest US-Russian led peace plan to end the war in Ukraine suggest that Washington is willing to make significant concessions to Moscow in negotiations, but the proposal is likely to... 21st November 2025 · 7 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Thinking through a potential end to the war in Ukraine Media reports suggest that the US and Russia are drafting a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, seemingly on terms favourable to Russia. Were this to materialise, a lack of sufficient security... 20th November 2025 · 6 mins read
Commodities Weekly Market scepticism over fresh sanctions on Russian oil While the threat of fresh US sanctions on Russian oil producers drove crude prices up by ~8% this week, market participants appear to be treating the risk with a degree of scepticism. That leaves the... 24th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus A primer on the Ukraine ‘reparations loan’ The EU appears close to agreeing on a loan for Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, that would be repaid by eventual reparations. This Focus explores the macroeconomic implications. The short... 23rd October 2025 · 10 mins read
Commodities Update Drone strikes, Russia’s oil sector & the upside risk to oil The oil market has largely shrugged off the damage from Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure so far. That said, the damage to Russian refinery and export capacity so far, and... 6th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly War pressures in Russia prompt further fiscal tightening Russia’s draft budget for 2026-28 announced this week suggests that policymakers are committed to fiscal tightening, through tax hikes to raise additional revenue and efforts to control military and... 26th September 2025 · 7 mins read
Commodities Weekly Supply uncertainties re-emerge as key driver of prices For all the recent focus on soft demand dynamics, developments on the supply side have been the main driver of oil prices this week. Heightened uncertainty is driving pessimism among US oil producers... 26th September 2025 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Poland: limited boost from defence spending surge Poland has ramped up defence spending faster than any other NATO country in the past few years, but we estimate that the boost to GDP growth has been less than 0.2%-pts per year. A high reliance on... 10th September 2025 · 19 mins read
