Central Europe / Data
Hungary’s commercial property market draws €610mn investment in H1
Hungary’s commercial real estate market recorded its strongest first-half performance since 2021, according to international property adviser Colliers.
Poland leads the world on defence worry, Finland climbs fastest since 2019
Even in the country most alarmed by it, defence is a top national concern for fewer than one person in three, a Statista survey of 32 countries has found.
Barely half of Ukrainians abroad still plan to go home
Just over half of the Ukrainians living abroad still intend to come home, down from more than two-thirds a year ago, as new lives in the EU take root.
Latvia faces a demographic 'triple squeeze' as the whole Baltic region ages and empties
Latvia is facing a demographic "triple squeeze" that will leave it with roughly 1.5mn people by 2050, a fifth fewer than today, as old-age dependency rises and pension incomes shrink relative to wages.
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Czech inflation accelerates to 1.7% in July, according to flash estimate
Service prices registered the highest growth, rising by 4.7% y/y, while the greatest easing was registered in the food and non-alcoholic beverages basket.
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Czech PMI drops slightly to 52.2 in July
The PMI index has remained on or above the 50 point mark separating growth and decline since February, the longest such stretch since 2022.
Poland’s WIG20 hits highest-ever closing level of 3,920 points
Żabka takeover news drives record trading volume on Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Ukraine less births than Kyrgyzstan this year as Central Europe's demographic crisis deepens
Ukraine is on track to record fewer births this year than Kyrgyzstan for the first time - a reversal from the end of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine's newborns outnumbered Kyrgyzstan's five to one.
Hungary's tourism slips in June as intense summer heat, strong forint weigh on travel
The sector retains significant long-term growth potential but faces mounting challenges.
Slovenia's retail sales rise 2.1% y/y in June despite monthly dip
Annual increase supported by growth across all major retail segments.
Polish unemployment falls to 5.8% in June, remains higher year on year
Poland’s unemployment rate rose 0.7pp year on year (y/y) to 5.8% in June, the country’s statistical office GUS said on July 23.
Poland's 7% deficit unlikely to trigger debt crisis but raises bond-market risk
Poland's deficit of around 7% of GDP is unlikely to trigger a debt crisis but will weaken investment and raise bond-market risk, Capital Economics says, with debt set to breach the statutory prudential threshold by 2027.
Polish retail sales accelerate to 6.2% y/y in June
Polish retail sales grew 6.2% year-on-year (y/y) in constant prices in June, accelerating from a 3% y/y rise in May. The data surprised analysts, defying expectations of a slowdown due to weakened growth of real wages.
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Slovak inflation eases to 3.5% y/y in June
Consumer prices dropped m/m for the first time in 2026, mainly due to lower fuel and food prices, statistics office says.
Polish venture capital investment hits record €1bn in H1
New record was driven primarily by mega-deals by ElevenLabs and ICEYE.
Foxconn subsidiary drives growth in Hungary’s industrial exports
Hungary's recent export recovery has been driven primarily by AI-related server manufacturing rather than the country's automotive industry.
Hungary cuts retail bond rates in bid to rein in soaring borrowing costs
Move comes amid declining market yields, giving the debt manager room to reduce returns offered to households while preserving the attractiveness of retail government bonds.
EBRD says bad-loan ratio in emerging Europe falls to record low
Average NPL ratio declined to a historic low of 1.86% at the end of 2025 as lending growth outpaced the increase in impaired loans.
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Czech PMI improves to 53.9 in June, best since April 2022
June PMI data "signalled a sharper upturn in the Czech manufacturing sector", says Siân Jones, principal economist at S&P Global.
Slovenia’s retail sales up 1.8% y/y in May
Increase driven by strong growth in automotive fuel sales, while food sales continued to decline.