Bi-Weekly Report 7-20 March 2017
Turkey
The CBRT proceeded with further monetary policy tightening -- attempting to reduce risks of excessive TRY volatility ahead of the mid-April referendum
Unemployment rose for a fourth consecutive year in 2016 -- reaching a 6-year high of 10.9%
Romania
GDP growth accelerated in Q4:16
Bulgaria
The BSP and GERB parties are broadly neck and neck in the polls ahead of the March 26th parliamentary elections
Economic growth gained momentum in Q4:16
Serbia
PM A. Vucic is the clear favourite to win the April Presidential elections in the 1st round
The unemployment rate declined for a 4th successive year to an 8-year low of 15.3% in FY:16
FYROM
Banking sector bottom line reaches a post-crisis high in 2016, despite strong domestic headwinds
Albania
Fiscal consolidation continued in FY:16
Cyprus
The pace of economic expansion rose to an 8-year high of 2.8% in FY:16 from 1.7% in FY:15 – well above the EA-19 average of 1.7%
S&P upgraded Cyprus' long-term sovereign debt rating by one notch to BB+ -- one notch below investment grade -- with a stable outlook
Egypt
The quarterly current account deficit stabilised on an annual basis in Q2:16/17, after 10 consecutive quarters of deterioration, due to a rebound in workers' remittances
The quarterly capital and financial account balance improved markedly to a multi-year high of 3.6% of GDP in Q2:16/17, due to the return of foreign investor confidence following the signing of the loan agreement with the IMF
Appendix: Financial Markets