Page 76 - bne monthly magazine October 2022

76 I New Europe in Numbers bne October 2022
Poland PMI
Polish manufacturers go deeper in recession mode in August as PMI sinks to 27-month low
Poland's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped 1.2 points to 40.9 in August (chart), the fourth time in a row when the index fell below the 50-point mark separating contraction from growth, the economic intelligence company S&P Global said on September 1.
The increasingly difficult business climate – high inflation, reduced purchasing power, and general market instability – once again, similarly to the previous months, led to sharp falls in output and new orders, S&P Global said. That made companies cut employment for a third month in succession in August while confidence about the future remained “subdued”.
Kazakh manufacturing PMI signals further growth in August
Kazakhstan's manufacturing sector signalled further growth in August following the expansion seen in July, June and May after a period of disruption caused by the outbreak of war in Ukraine and subsequent imposition of sanctions on Russia, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey data from Tengri Partners and IHS Markit.
The index posted 52 in August, following July's 52.8.
The survey noted that the output growth rate softened due to ongoing supply-chain disruption driven by Ukraine war sanctions against Russia and sharply rising prices. Moreover, currency weakness meant that input costs rose sharply again.
Hungarian inflation jumps to 24-year high in August
Hungary’s annualised CPI accelerated to 15.6% from 13.7% in July (chart), the highest since May 1998, driven by higher food and consumer durable prices, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on September 8. Core inflation rose from 16.7% to 19% in the same period. Consumer prices rose 1.8% from the previous month.
The price increase was broad-based, with 96 of the 140 of goods and services in KSH's consumer basket showing double-digit growth and 35% rising more than 20%.
The pace of food price growth continued to edge higher, up 30.9% y/y, despite the price freeze of half a dozen foodstuffs. The price of poultry climbed 40.4%, bread prices jumped 64.3% and dairy product prices increased by 54.7%. Hungarian consumers have already begun to scale back on food purchases, according to the latest retail data.
Russia-China trade up by a third this year, on course for $200bn
Russo-Chinese trade turnover was up by 31.4% in the first eight months of this year to $117bn and is on course to hit $200bn, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China reported on September 7.
Total trade turnover hit a new record of $146.9bn in 2021 as both sides have striven to reach the goal of increasing trade to $200bn set several years ago.
China’s exports to Russia rose by 8.5% in the reporting period to $44.26bn, while imports of Russian goods and services climbed by 50.7% to $72.95bn, according to released data, reported Tass.
Source: IHS Markit
Kazakhstan PMI index
Source: IHS Markit
Hungary inflation y/y
Source: Central Bank of Hungary
Russia trade change % y/y
Source: BOFIT
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