Page 70 - BNE_magazine_07_2020

70 I New Europe in Numbers bne July 2020
Russia monetary policy rate vs inflation CPI
Record contraction of Czech industry in April driven by 80% fall in car production
Czech industrial production in April decreased the most in the country's modern history, down by 33.7% year-on-year, which was worse than
the market estimate of 25%, according to the latest data released by the Czech Statistics Office (CSO) on June 8. The main reason was
a significant fall in automotive production by 80.1% y/y.
“The strong decline was not so surprising as major car maker factories were closed. Only Hyundai reopened in mid-April, but it
was not operating at full capacity. As such, only 14,500 cars were produced in April vs. a monthly average of 120,000,” commented ING chief economist Jakub Seidler, adding that this should be the bottom, however, recovery in May remained slow.
Ukraine central bank cuts key rate to 6%, its lowest level ever
The board of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will cut the key policy rate from the current level of 8% to 6% from June 12.
This is the lowest level of the key policy rate since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, the regulator said in a statement on June 11.
"Consumer and investment demand is most likely to remain subdued for longer than forecast in April. On the one hand, this will keep inflation below the target level for longer than projected in the April forecast. On the other hand, this means that the Ukrainian economy will face a deeper contraction than expected," the central bank added.
Russia's CBR cuts key interest rate by decisive 100bp to 4.5%
The board of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has resolved to cut the key interest rate by 100bp from 5.5% to 4.5% at the policy meeting of June 19. The cut is four-fold larger than the minimum step of 25bp and was largely anticipated by the market.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, on April 24 the CBR cut the interest rate by a double step of 50bp to 5.5%, announcing a "shift to the soft monetary and credit policy cycle" and allowing for further cuts at subsequent meetings.
Hungary’s automotive industry output plunges 80% in April on shutdowns
Output of Hungary's automotive industry, an engine of industrial growth, contracted 80% y/y in April because of shutdowns at the country’s major manufacturing sites, according to statistics office KSH on June 12.
The decline in headline industrial output accelerated to 36.8% y/y in April from 5.6% in March and the adjusted data showed a 36.6% decline, up from 10% in the preceding month, in line with the preliminary figure.
On a monthly basis, output fell 30.5% in April, following a 10.4% slide in the previous month, which was the first back-to-back monthly double- digit decline on record.
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