Southeast Europe / Data
Moldova's economy shrinks by 1.9% y/y in Q3
Economic performance was dragged down by agriculture, while manufacturing sector grew.
Kosovo's population down 12% since 2011
Falling population attributed to departure of many Kosovars to work abroad in search of a better life, a trend that persists across the Balkans.
North Macedonia's central bank lowers key interest rate by 0.25 pp to 5.55%
Policy rate lowered despite slight rise in inflation, attributed to higher food prices.
Hungarian households have joint lowest consumption levels in EU
Hungarians and Bulgarians had the lowest spending power among EU member states.
Advanced economies have lower out-of-pocket healthcare spending
According to the Global Health Expenditure Database by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global average out-of-pocket expenses related to health across 192 countries made up 30% of all health expenditures per capita in 2022.
Romania’s industrial output shows partial recovery in October
Output rises 1.3% y/y but figure indicates continued stagnation in industrial activity.
Rising inflation may force Moldova's central bank to reconsider its expansionary monetary policy
Consumer price inflation accelerated to 5.4% y/y in November from 5.3% in October.
Romania’s trade deficit reaches new record in October
Imports soared by 8.6% y/y an all-time high of €12.2bn, while exports advanced by only 0.5%.
North Macedonia’s FX reserves soar 24.1% y/y at end-November
Gross international reserves reached €4.920bn at the end of November after strong growth in recent months.
Romania’s GDP grows by just 0.8% y/y in 9M24
Private consumption remained the main growth driver in the third quarter of 2024.
Bulgaria's GDP grows 2.4% in Q3 2024
Consumption drives upturn in GDP growth, while exports fall.
Serbs support EU membership but remain emotionally wedded to Russia
IPSOS finds support for Serbia’s accession to the European Union is growing, but emotional and historical ties continue to bind the nation closely to Russia and China.
203 Turkish university programmes accept candidates with negative central exam scores
Inflated higher education admissions help disguise reality of severe unemployment.
Garanti concludes autumn season for Turkish banks’ syndicated loan renewals
In this cycle, 371-day, 734-day and 1,101-day tranches have emerged as a new phenomenon.
Turkey releases official November inflation at 47% y/y
A rate cut on December 26 remains a clear possibility.
Turkish manufacturing slump continues in November but shoots of recovery seen, shows PMI
Firms confident of increased workloads ahead taking on staff, survey indicates. Waning inflationary environment brings slowest increase in output prices in five years.
Gas prices rising as EU storage tanks empty faster than usual
Gas withdrawals from EU underground storage tanks have accelerated as Europe suffers from the first cold snap of winter. Gas tanks were 85.5% full as of December 1, having peaked at 95.3% full on October 29, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Turkey launches tender to export 0.1mn tonnes of durum wheat
A former wheat importer, Russia’s Black Sea neighbour now a wheat, barley, gas and oil exporter on re-exports of Russia products to overcome Ukraine War sanctions.
Romania’s public debt reaches 54.4% of GDP
Debt increased by €6bn in September alone, driven by a €5bn international bond issuance.
Serbia's industrial production posts double-digit growth in October
Serbia's industrial production surged by 14.4% in October 2024 compared to the 2023 average, driven by strong performances across key sectors.