Romania’s public debt reaches 48.9% of GDP at end-2023

Romania's high fiscal deficit is expected to put pressure on the public debt-to-GDP ratio, eventually pushing it above 50%.

Romania’s inflation drops to 7.2% in February

February's fall in inflation was smaller than expected, increasing uncertainty about future rate cuts.

North Macedonia’s central bank maintains key rate at 6.3%

Domestic inflation decelerated to an annual rate of 3% in February, as pressures from food and energy prices decreased.

Moldova’s inflation remains moderate in February

Inflation has been in the lower half of the 5%+/-1pp target band for three months.

Construction, ICT and agriculture push Romania’s GDP growth to 2.1% in 2023

Romania’s economy advanced by 1.1% y/y in the last quarter of 2023 and by 2.1% y/y in the full year.

National Bank of Serbia maintains policy rate at 6.5%

The decision to maintain the reference interest rate was primarily influenced by the global economic landscape, characterised by declining but still elevated inflationary pressures.

Poll shows Bulgarians have turned against Putin

Bulgaria took a strong pro-Western turn after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Romania’s retail sales post impressive 6.6% y/y advance in January

Private consumption is expected to be a major growth driver in Romania this year and the January figures are fully consistent with this.

Turkey’s official headline inflation moves up to 15-month high of 67% in February

Central bank watching for lagged effects of rate hikes that have taken benchmark to 45%.

Newly released PMI index shows Romania's manufacturing sector stuck in recession

The Romanian manufacturing sector faces new shocks from supply chain bottlenecks and higher taxes affecting activity, in the context of already broad-based weakness in demand.

Turkish manufacturing returns to growth for first time in eight months, February PMI shows

Input and output price components still elevated, suggesting price pressures remain strong, says Capital Economics.

Turkey posts 2023 GDP of 4.5% as finance minister Simsek markets his “middle ground”

In the battle to trigger hot money inflows, the current course means the delivery of a positive real rate will only occur in the second half.

Commercial real estate investment dropped by 55% in Central Europe in 2023, says Cushman & Wakefield

The highest proportion of the capital went into the office sector, although its share dropped from 41% in 2022 to 32% in 2023 because of the increasing trend towards remote work.

Turkey hits brake on monetary tightening, policy rate left unchanged at 45%

Benchmark will be further raised should the inflation outlook flash red, says regulator.

Is the worst of Europe's slowdown over as PMI recover?

Moldova’s industrial activity shrank by 3.6% y/y in 2023

Moldova's industrial facilities had to reduce operations dramatically in the winter of 2022-23, as natural gas resources were limited and costly.

CEE losing competitiveness because of soaring wages and weak productivity growth

Unit labour costs have surged by 25% since 2020 – something not seen since the early 2000s, says Capital Economics

Moldova's trade balance narrowed by 8.5% y/y to 27% of GDP in 2023

Both imports and exports contracted in 2023.

Clear east-west divide in EU for gender balance in science and engineering

Female employment in science and engineering is well above 50% in multiple regions of Central and Southeast Europe, Eurostat figures show.

Romania’s industrial output shrinks by 4.9% in 2023

Industrial activity has deteriorated in Romania, with the overall industrial output index (chart) contracting by 4.9% y/y in 2023 according to data published by the statistics office INS. Romanian industry has been losing ground since before COVID.