Dr. Platon Chief Market Economist, Deputy General Manager, Eurobank Ergasias S.A.,
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD ECONOMIC & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
GLOBAL MARKETS: The USD gained some ground in European trade on Tuesday supported by market expectations for a 25bps rate hike at this week’s two-day FOMC monetary policy meeting which commences later in the day. Elsewhere, the GBP came under renewed pressure on renewed political jitters. First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon announced on Monday that she will start taking the required legal steps for a second Scottish independence referendum next week with an intention the vote to be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. International press reports suggesting a likely activation of Article 50 by the end of this month, in line with the UK government’s self-imposed timeline, failed to exert a lasting positive impact on the GBP.
GREECE: Deliberations between Greek officials and the institutions continue in Athens and via teleconferences both at the technical level and at the institutions heads level with a view to closing as many open issues as possible by the March 20 Eurogroup. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) the index of wages for the whole economy excluding primary sector and activities of households for Q4 2016, seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for the number of working days, recorded an increase of 0.2%, compared with the corresponding index of the Q4 2015. Additionally, in the period January – December 2016, Total Building Activity (private and public) in Greece, calculated on the basis of the number of issued building permits, amounted to 12,526, recording a decrease of 5.5% compared to the corresponding period of 2015.
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
ROMANIA: The Romanian finance ministry rejected on Monday all bids at an April 2024 T-bonds auction due to low investor demand.
SERBIA: Headline consumer inflation advanced by 0.7%MoM in February, bringing the annual rate of increase to 3.2%YoY from 2.4% in January. February’s annual print marks the highest reading since September 2013. Additionally, it stands just above the midpoint of the 3+/-1.5% Central Bank (NBS) tolerance band.
Viewers can log herebelow and read the full report: Daily Overview March 14 2017
