Dr. Platon Monokroussos, Chief Market Economist, Deputy General Manager, Eurobank Ergasias S.A
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD ECONOMIC & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
GLOBAL MARKETS: Amid lingering oversupply jitters and ongoing worries over the growth prospects of China, the Brent crude oil price was hovering around $29.80/barrel in European trade, the lowest since mid-February 2004 having recorded losses of near 20% so far this year. Against this background, the majority of European equity markets were weaker in early trade on Friday while the JPY gained some ground favored by its safe-haven appeal.
GREECE: The state of play in the implementation of Greece’s stabilization programme featured high in yesterday’s Eurogroup. According to the formal statement, the institutions intent to commence official discussions with Greek authorities in the context of the review next week focusing on the following key issues: (i) social security pension reform; (ii) the FY-2016 budget; (iii) medium-term fiscal strategy; (iv) modernization of public administration; (v) financial sector reforms; and (vi) reforms in the electricity sector.
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
CYPRUS: The Eurogroup convened yesterday to discuss the 8th and final review of Cyprus’ economic adjustment programme. Eurogroup President Dijsselbloem praised the country for the high degree of ownership in the programme implementation.
ROMANIA: On the data front, the current account deficit doubled to €1.0bn in January-November 2015 compared to €440mn in the same period a year ago.
CESEE MARKETS: After Wednesday’s short-lived respite, emerging stock markets resumed this week’s downtrend to close in the redon Thursday, as investor sentiment deteriorated anew on the back of China-related worries and a further decline in oil prices which fell to new troughs hitting related shares. Along similar lines, the majority of regional currencies broadly recoiled and government bonds lost groundon Thursday.
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Daily Overview January 15 2016
