Page 76 - bne_May magazine 2023_20230503 BRICS

76 I New Europe in Numbers bne May 2023
Russia gross intl reserves $bn
Russia’s international reserves are back to over $600bn
Russia’s international reserves increased by 1.2%, or $6.9bn, in one week to top $600bn for the first time since the war in Ukraine started, the Central Bank said in a statement on April 13.
"International reserves amounted to $600.8bn as of April 7, up by $6.9bn, or by 1.2%, in one week as a result of positive revaluation," the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said.
Ukraine’s inflation falls to 21.3% y/y in March, but remains stubbornly high
Consumer price inflation fell to 21.3% in March year on year from 24.9% a month earlier, but despite keeping the prime interest rates punishingly high, it remains elevated, Ukrstat reported on April 12.
Worryingly, the weekly inflation rate rose at a faster pace in March, up by 1.5% compared with 0.7% in February and 0.8% in January.
Core inflation also rose 1.5% in March from 0.5% in February and 0.7% in January, Ukrstat said.
Europe’s heating season ends as gas storage passes bottom
The use of stored gas in Europe has passed bottom and gas tanks are now being refilled to be ready for next winter.
European gas tank storage hit a low of 55.36% full on April 1 and the volume held in tanks has grown since then to 57.94% full as of April 23, according to data from GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe).
Gas use this year was exceptionally low and the nadir of gas use that resulted in gas tanks being more than 50% full is the highest volume in storage at the end of the heating season in at least five years.
Slovenia’s retail sales decline further y/y in March
Slovenia's retail sales fell by an annual 12.7% in March, deepening from a 4% y/y decline a month before (chart), the statistics office, SURS, said on April 26.
In retail trade with food products sales went down by 8.3% y/y, in retail trade with automotive fuel dropped by 16.8% y/y and in retail trade with non-food products fell by 11.2% y/y.
In the first three months of the year, turnover moved down by 0.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.
At a monthly level, volume turnover in retail trade edged up 0.4%. In retail trade with automotive fuel it declined by 1.6%, in retail trade with food products by 1.1% and in retail trade with non-food products by 0.7%.
Volume turnover from trade and repair of motor vehicles grew at the monthly level by 2.5% and increased by 18.7% y/y in March.
Source: CBR
Ukraine inflation y/y
Source: UAH
European gas storage % full
Source: GIE AGSI
Slovenia retail turnover change y/y
Source: statistics office
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