Bi-Weekly Report 15-28 October 2019
TURKEY
The CBRT cut its key rate by 250 bps to 14.0%, on the back of easing geopolitical tensions and an accommodative monetary policy environment globally
Headline inflation reached an almost 3-year low of 9.3% y-o-y in September against 15.0% in August, mainly due to base effects from the sharp depreciation of the TRY last year
SERBIA
The IMF reached a staff-level agreement with the Serbian authorities on the completion of the 3rd review of the 30-month (non-financing) Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI)
The current account deficit (CAD) widened to 6.5% of GDP, on a 12-month rolling basis, in August from a trough of 5.2% of GDP at end-2018
NORTH MACEDONIA
PM Zaev called snap elections after the EU failed to open membership talks
The 4-quarter rolling current account deficit (CAD) rebounded to 1.0% of GDP in Q2:19 from a low of 0.3% in Q4:18, mainly due to lower remittances
ALBANIA
The EU postponed a decision on granting Albania a starting date for EU membership negotiations until May 2020
The pace of GDP growth moderated to 2.4% y-o-y in H1:19, as the impact from the past year’s spike in energy production fades
APPENDIX: FINANCIAL MARKETS