Dr. Platon Chief Market Economist, Deputy General Manager, Eurobank Ergasias S.A.,
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD ECONOMIC & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
GLOBAL MARKETS: Focus today is on Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s semi-annual testimony before Congress starting at 14:30 CETthough any impact on markets will likely prove limited as the overall tone is not expected to deviate much from her recent rhetoric. Awaiting her testimony, USD was under pressure while US Treasury yields moved lower following comments by a number of Fed officialson Tuesday, perceived by market participants as erring on the dovish side of expectations. The Fed will release its Beige Book while in terms of data UK employment data for June lure market attention today.
GREECE: According to press reports, the Greek government sent a letter of intent to the IMF requesting a loan facility of €1.6 billion through a programme which will last twelve months and thirteen days, ending on 31st August 2018, shortly after the completion of the current ESM programme. The new programme will reportedly be supervised by the IMF and it is proposed that there be two reviews, one on 15 February 2018 and the other on 15 August 2018. In other news, the Bank of Greece released yesterday its periodic review of the Greek financial system according to which the stock of Non-Performing Exposures (NPEs) is decreasing – albeit at a slow pace – for the past four quarters, after having reached its peak in March 2016. Nevertheless, the percentage of NPEs to total loans rose in Q1 2017 due to the decrease of the total stock of loans but also the uncertainty caused by the delay in the completion of the 2nd programme review.
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
CESEE MARKETS: The majority of emerging market assets firmed earlier on Wednesday, as risk sentiment improved after a positive close in Wall Street overnight.
Viewers can log herebelow and read the full report: Daily Overview July 12 2017
