Bi-Weekly Report 30 May - 12 June 2017

Turkey                                                                                     

Headline inflation declined, for the first time in 7 months, to 11.7%  y-o-y in May

GDP growth accelerated to 5.0% y-o-y in Q1:17, supported by buoyant external demand and a counter-cyclical fiscal policy

Romania

GDP growth rose sharply in Q1:17

PM Grindeanu refuses to resign after his ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) withdrew its support for his Cabinet (in power since January)

Bulgaria

Economic growth maintained its momentum in Q1:17

Rating agencies upgraded Bulgaria's outlook

Serbia

President Vucic nominated an independent, A. Brnabic, for the post of Prime Minister

The external adjustment reversed course in Q1:17, driven by higher energy imports

FYROM

FYROM temporarily experienced a sharp economic slowdown in Q1:17, due to a surge in imports

Significant fiscal consolidation in 4M:17, mainly on the back of postponed public transfers

Albania

The banking sector's bottom line strengthened markedly on an annual basis in Q1:17, with ROAE returning to double digits due to lower provisioning

Cyprus                                                                                     

GDP growth reached a post-global crisis high of 3.4% y-o-y in Q1:17

Unemployment eased further in Q1:17, mainly on the back of stronger activity in the tourism and construction sectors

Egypt

FX reserves have risen sharply, by USD 12.1bn to USD 31.1bn, following the signing of the 3-year EEF with the IMF last November

The unemployment rate declined significantly, by 0.7 pps y-o-y to a 5½-year low of 12.0% in Q3:16/17, mainly on the back of strengthening confidence in the Egyptian economy and the recovery in the tourism sector

Appendix: Financial Markets