Page 66 - bneMag Oct23

66 I New Europe in Numbers bne October 2023
Ukraine GDP quarterly growth y/y
Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance revises GDP growth up to 3% for 2023
Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance has revised up its GDP growth forecast to 3%, the ministry said on September 12.
According to 2023's activity, Ukraine's GDP will grow by more than 3%, Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko said.
"The balance of payments has been adjusted thanks to external infusions. The NBU's reserves and the hryvnia are strengthening, but exports are not growing, and imports are increasing, which is an alarming signal," said Marchenko, UBN reports.
Albanian lek falls against euro after months of appreciation
The Albanian lek has fallen against the euro and other major currencies over the last month, following months of appreciation that concerned exporters.
The lek rose to a peak of ALL100.49 to the euro on July 20, but did not break through the ALL100 to the lek mark. Instead, it has mainly fallen over the last month, and stood at ALL109.67 to the euro as of August 28, central bank data showed. This is close to the level the ALL/EUR exchange rate was at in late May.
Russian services PMI jumps to very strong 57.6 in August
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Russia Services PMI Business Activity Index posted a very strong 57.6 in August, up sharply from 54.0 in July.
“The latest data signalled a sharp expansion in business activity across the Russian service sector, with firms often attributing the rise to stronger domestic client demand. The rate of growth in output was the second-fastest for three years and steeper than the series average,” S&P said in a press release on September 5.
Kazakh central bank introduces first policy rate cut since 2020
Kazakhstan’s central bank on August 25 introduced its first policy rate cut since 2020, reducing the benchmark by 25 bp to 16.5%.
The decision to implement the cut was taken in light of improving inflation projections within the country. Galymzhan Pirmatov, governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, also highlighted the evolving global economic landscape, characterising it as "disinflationary" due to declining food prices and the tightening of monetary policies by central banks worldwide.
Source: NBU, ICU
The lek has fallen against the euro since late July
Source: Bank of Albania
Russia PMI
Source: S&P Global
Kazakhstan monetary policy rate vs CPI inflation y/y
Source: Central bank of Kazakhstan
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