Russia's CBR front-loads key rate to 7.5% to tame the market

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) surprised analysts by hiking its monetary policy rate by 25bp to 7.5% -- the central bank’s first increase in interest rates since 2014.

Romania’s stock exchange outperforms emerging markets benchmarks

The main index of the Bucharest Stock Exchange advanced by 4.4% in January-August while emerging markets benchmarks stayed in the red.

Romania and Slovenia show EMEA's strongest hiring confidence for 4Q

Employers in two Southeast European economies report robust hiring intentions, as global picture remains positive despite looming trade wars and Brexit uncertainty, ManpowerGroup survey shows.

Czech PMI falls to 54.9, but the overall conditions remained strong

The Czech IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 54.9 in August from 55.4 in July, the weakest result since August 2017, figures released by IHS Markit show.

Belarus foreign reserves increase by 3.1% m/m in August

The foreign exchange reserves of Belarus increased by $216mn, or 3.1% month-on-month, to $7.246bn in August

Average salary in Czechia hits all time high with 8.6% y/y increase in second quarter

Georgian central bank maintains policy rate at 7.0%

The National Bank of Georgia’s (NBG’) Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the refinancing rate unchanged at 7.0%.

Ukraine central bank increases key rate by 0.5 pp to 18%

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increases its key policy rate by 0.5 percentage points (pp) to 18% from September 7, the regulator said in a statement on September 6.

Ukraine international reserves down 2.9% in August

Ukraine's international reserves fell by 2.9% in August to $17.232bn taking the level below the three month future import cover considered to be a minimum to ensure the stability of the hryvnia, following a 1.3% decline in July

Russia's EconMin worsens GDP outlook again to 1.8% for 2018 on bad external conditions

The Ministry of Economic Development worsened Russia's short-term economic outlook as expected due to volatility on emerging markets, worsened sanction risks, faster capital outflow and rising cost of debt.

Russia's service sector business activity PMI index picks up to three-month high

Russia’s IHS Markit services PMI rose to a three month high in August of 53.3, up from 52.8 a month earlier and well ahead of the 50 no-change benchmark.

IBM report reveals small CEE/SEE nations’ success in attracting FDI to create jobs

Serbia holds top spot worldwide in terms of jobs created by foreign direct investors relative to its population size, with fellow Central and Southeast European countries dominating the top 10 locations, IBM's Global Location Trends report shows.

Georgia’s CPI up 3.1% in August

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Georgia increased by 3.1% y/y in August, while edging up by 0.5% compared to July, statistics office Geostat said on September 3.

Russia's manufacturing PMI improves but remains just in the red

The latest IHS Markit manufacturing PMI for August was slightly up m/m to 48.9 from 48.1 in July, but still below the 50 no-change mark.

Romanian banks post stellar profits in H1 while NPL ratio drops

Causes of the high profitability include banks cleaning up their portfolios, the rise in interest rates and consolidation within the sector.

Estonian GDP growth accelerates tiny 0.1pp to 3.7% y/y in Q2

Growth moderated for the second consecutive quarter, as domestic demand expanded a modest 4.5% y/y, held back by a 0.8% annual fall in investment.

Belarus dramatically revises downward forecast for GDP growth in 2019

The Belarusian government has dramatically revised downward its forecast for the country’s GDP growth in 2019 (from 4.5% year-on-year to 2.1% y/y), according to the nation's new Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoy.

Georgia’s GDP grew 4.6% y/y in July, flash estimate shows

Georgia’s GDP grew by 4.6% y/y in July, a flash estimate from statistics office Geostat showed on August 30.

Russian CPI breaks above 3% for the first time in a year as inflationary risks rise

Russian inflation breaks above 3% for the first time in a year as inflation pressures rise

Turkey confirms contraction in July foreign trade gap at 33% y/y

Data underlines acceleration in the pace of the rebalancing seen in the crisis-hit Turkish economy.