Page 68 - BNE_magazine_05_2020

68 I New Europe in Numbers bne May 2020
Number of confirmed coronavirus cases
day+n, log scale, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkey in bold
Sharp falls in new car sales across EU in March as pandemic engulfs region
New passenger car registrations in Slovenia plunged by 62.4% year on year to 2,743 in March, the steepest fall in the region, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) indicated.
Across the EU, car registrations dropped by 55.1% y/y in March to 567,308 units while in the first three months of the year new car registrations fell 25.6% to 2.48mn units.
Governments look to relax lockdowns as infection curves flatten in Central, Southeast Europe
Infection rates for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are slowing across most of Central and Southeast Europe as strict lockdowns appear to have brought the spread of the virus under control.
Data demonstrates a flattening of the infection curve in countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, while elsewhere in the region stringent and early lockdowns have already prevented outbreaks from escalating in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Slovenia and several other countries.
Ukraine’s economy will contract by 4.2% this year and then see an L-shaped recovery
Ukraine’s economy will contract by 4.2% this year and then see an L-shaped recovery, down from the October forecast of 3.2% growth in 2020, according to Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture estimates, released on April 17.
"According to experts, Ukraine will show a deeper decline than the global economy, which will be 4.2% in 2020. The nature of recovery
will be the same, the L-form: quarantine measures already adopted in Ukraine will be further strengthened and will last until the end of the second quarter, which will have a more negative impact on the country's economy, as a result of which recovery will be very slow," the forecast says, as cited by Interfax Ukraine.
Polish CPI growth eases to 4.6% y/y in March as COVID-19 impact remains limited
Polish CPI expanded 4.6% y/y in March, the annual growth rate easing 0.1pp versus February, the statistical office GUS said in a preliminary estimate on April 15.
The slowdown in price growth is thus mild and any deflationary impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic will only be clear when the April CPI reading is published next month.
Ukraine GDP quarterly growth % y/y
Poland CPI, change in % y/y
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