Weekly Report 4 - 10 October 2016

The new Medium-Term Plan eases fiscal policy this year and next to support economic growth

The 12-month rolling budget deficit rose sharply to 2.7% of GDP in August from 1.5% in December, mainly due to tax cuts and lower grants from the EU

Q3:16 leading indicators point to a slowdown in economic activity

External rebalancing continues in 7M:16, with the current account deficit easing to 4.3% in July, on a 12-month rolling basis, supported by favourable energy prices and buoyant exports

Serbia’s competitiveness improves in 2016-17

The current account deficit remains unchanged at 1.5% of GDP, on an annual basis, in 7M:16

Albania’s competitiveness improves markedly in 2016-17

The unemployment rate declines further, to a 3-year low of 15.9% in Q2:16

The current account deficit narrows by 0.3 pps y-o-y to 2.3% of GDP in the first half of the year, on the back of a sharp improvement in the balance of services

FX reserves rise sharply by USD 3.0bn m-o-m to a 15-month high of USD 19.5bn in September

Parliament approves the controversial civil service law – a pillar of the Government’s 3-year reform programme