The booms in Hungary and Romania won’t last

Hungary and Romania posted growth of over 5% for 1Q19, however, says a report from wiiw, the ongoing booms in the two countries are based on temporary factors and are not expected to last.

Turkish private sector’s 1-yr FX loan repayment obligations fall 3% m/m to $60.4 bn in March

Assessing economic flashpoints on horizon, analyst says external debts equal to around 24% of Turkey’s GDP need to be serviced over the next 12 months, leaving the lira vulnerable to bouts of risk aversion.

Hungary's stellar Q1 GDP growth puts it first in Europe

GDP growth reached a 19-year high of 5.3%, with the industrial sector unfazed by a slowdown in eurozone economies or the strike at Audi's Gyor factory.

Czech economic growth slows on lower external demand and household consumption

The Czech economic growth slowed to 2.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year from 2.6% in the 4Q18, affected mostly by lower external demand and household consumption

Slovakia´s inflation less pronounced due to drop in prices of flight tickets

Slovakia´s inflation slowed to 2.3% year-on-year in April, down from 2.7% in March. Core inflation stood at 1.9% and net inflation at 1.6%, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on May 15.

Turkey’s central government budget deficit soars 135% y/y in Jan-April

Typically praised, the Treasury's housekeeping is going to pot amid country's economic turmoil.

Polish GDP growth surprises to the upside, flash estimate shows

Romania’s 5% Q1 growth sends mixed messages

Romania’s GDP rose in 1Q19 at the fastest rate in the past five quarters, but besides the positive sentiment this generated, the figure also consolidates concerns related to the sustainability of the wage-led growth.

Vehicle sector output shifts to higher gear, lifting Hungary's industrial output

The automotive sector, which has the largest weight in the industrial sector, boosted output by 12.8% y/y in March, the highest rate in two-and-a-half years.

Russia on track to remain world's biggest grain exporter

Russia is projected to harvest a solid harvest of wheat of over 77mn tonnes and 38.4mn tonnes of feed grain (corn, sorghum, barley, rye, oats, millet), making a total harvest of 115.4mn tonnes in 2019

Czech unemployment drops to a two decade low of 2.7% in April

Czech unemployment rate dropped to 2.7% in April from 3% in March, at its lowest level since June 1997, due to the continuing start of seasonal work, according to data by the Labour Office published on May 10.

Belarus foreign reserves increased by 4.5% m/m in April

The foreign exchange reserves of Belarus increased by $322.7mn, or 4.5% month-on-month, to $7.6bn in April following a 2.1% m/m growth in March, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) said in a statement on May 4.

Czech PMI falls to its lowest level since December 2012

The Czech IHS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped further to its lowest level since December 2012, to 46.6 in April from 47.3 in March, driven by a strong decline in client demand

Czech National Bank hikes its interest rates for the first time in 2019

The Czech National Bank (CNB) increased the two-week repo rate by 25 base points to 2% from 1.75%, the highest level since February 2009.

Ukraine foreign reserves decrease by 0.5% m/m in April to $20.5bn

Ukraine's international reserves decreased by 0.5% month-on-month to $20.5bn in April following a 2.1% m/m growth in March, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

Environment for SMEs improved in Western Balkans, Turkey but potential still unexploited

SMEs are under-represented in international trade and their contribution to value added remains low, the latest SME Policy Index finds.

Consumption the main growth driver in Romania as retail sales soar in 1Q19

Romania's average retail sales index was up 8.4% y/y in 1Q19, the highest annual growth rate in the past five quarters and no surprise after the net average wage rose by 14% y/y in January-February.

Russia's Services PMI eases notably in April, composite output down

Russia's services sector posted a notable slowdown in April, as the May 6 report by IHS Markit showed the softest rise in services output since June 2018, while the rate of new business growth slowed down to a ten-month low.

Russian crude production down 0.6% m/m in April, gas output rose 3.9% y/y

The decline in Russian crude output continued to be driven by the production cuts at integrated oil companies under the OPEC+ agreement. The exception was Gazprom Neft, which increased crude output 3.3% m/m.

Investment flows into EMs up – except Russia

Non-resident investment flows into emerging markets equity was up in April to $38bn in April, except Russia which saw $2.8bn of outflows as sanctions fears reappear.