Italian financial group UniCredit has projected a 1.8% growth for Romania’s economy in 2025. The primary driver of this growth is anticipated to be private consumption. According to the leading European financial institution’s projections fixed investments will contribute 1pp to Romania’s overall growth rate, half the 2pp contribution of private consumption. Unicredit estimates that public investment will have a greater contribution to
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UK house prices recorded their highest monthly increase since 2020, driven by a surge in new sellers entering the market in January, according to property website Rightmove. Average house prices rose by 1.7% in January compared to December, following a 1.7% decline in the previous month. On an annual basis, house price growth accelerated to 1.8% from 1.4% in December. Rightmove reported
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The National Bank of Romania (BNR) left its benchmark interest rate at 6.5% on Wednesday (Jan. 15), aligning with market expectations. It’s the third time in a row that policymakers opted to leave the rate unchanged amid ongoing political turbulence and inconsistent inflation slowdown. Romania’s annual inflation rate stood at 5.1% in December 2024, remaining at its highest level since August and
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The world economy is projected to remain resilient despite significant challenges, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. The Outlook projects global GDP growth of 3.3% in 2025, up from 3.2% in 2024, and 3.3% in 2026. Inflation in the OECD is expected to ease further, from 5.4% in 2024 to 3.8% in 2025 and 3.0% in 2026. Headline inflation has already
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The European Union (EU) and Mercosur finalised a free trade agreement on Friday (Dec. 6), after more than 20 years of negotiations. Mercosur is the South American economic bloc comprising Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. “This is a win-win agreement, which will bring meaningful benefits to consumers and businesses, on both sides. We are focused on fairness and mutual benefit. We
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The Central Bank of Egypt kept its interest rate unchanged at a record high of 27.25% on Thursday (Nov. 21), a decision correctly predicted by all eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The hold was the fifth consecutive hold and followed a cumulative hike of 1,900 basis points since March 2022. “Considering developments at the domestic and global levels, the committee views the
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In the eurozone the government deficit to GDP ratio increased from 3.5% in 2022 to 3.6% in 2023, and in the EU from 3.2% to 3.5%, Eurostat said. In the eurozone the government debt to GDP ratio decreased from 89.5% at the end of 2022 to 87.4% at the end of 2023, and in the EU from 82.5% to 80.8%. In 2023,
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The European Central Bank (ECB) lowered its three key interest rates by 25 bps on Thursday (Oct. 17), as expected, following similar moves in September and June. The deposit facility, main refinancing operations, and marginal lending facility rates will now be 3.25%, 3.40%, and 3.65%, respectively. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, stated its decision was based on the
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The global economy could be exposed to losses of $14.5 trillion USD over a five-year period from the threat of a hypothetical geopolitical conflict causing widespread disruption to global trade patterns and supply chains, Lloyd’s of London research revealed. Geopolitical conflict is the fifth scenario in Lloyd’s systemic risk series which aims to equip risk managers, governments, and insurers with data-driven impact
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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday (Sept. 25) that the world economy is turning the corner as growth remained resilient through the first half of 2024, with declining inflation, though significant risks remain. With robust growth in trade, improvements in real incomes and a more accommodative monetary policy in many economies, the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook
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