Economics

After two years of trade deficits propped up by high imports, Slovenia once again reported a monthly surplus in February though the trade balance remains negative for the first two months of the year.

The share of private-label products reached historic highs in the first two months of 2023, with consumers looking for cheaper solutions due to inflation, while their participation in the Household Basket measure has been considerable.

The United States is likely to enter a recession this year and face high inflation through 2024, a majority of economists polled in a recent survey predicted.

More than two-thirds of respondents to the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) policy survey forecast that inflation will remain above four percent at the end of this year.

A number of goods and services are expected to stabilize at high prices in Cyprus in the coming period, while food prices are expected to rise ahead of Easter. These are the conclusions drawn from the Consumer Price Index for the first two months of 2023, as well as reports from market professionals to Kathimerini Cyprus.

In February, annual inflation in Bulgaria slowed down to a 9-month low of 16.0% compared to 16.7% in January, according to the data of the National Statistical Institute. This is the lowest annual inflation rate since May 2022.

On a monthly basis, however, there was an increase in consumer prices by 0.8% compared to the first month of 2023, when inflation rose by 1.4%.

The Greek trade deficit shrank by 21.9% in January 2023 as the increase in the value of exports was around six times more than the growth rate of imports.

Greece constitutes a window to the countries of Western Europe for retail chains from Serbia, which have recently been active in this country and indeed with rapid growth rates.

BELGRADE - According to figures released by the national statistical office, Serbian January inflation amounted to 1.4 pct, or 15.8 pct relative to January 2022, which is consistent with National Bank of Serbia (NBS) expectations, the central bank said in a statement.

"Around two-thirds of headline inflation remain attributable to food and energy prices.

Disposable household incomes rose by 10.2% in the third quarter of 2022, reaching 37.7 billion euros, compared to 34.2 billion euros in the same period last year, according to data the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) released on Tuesday.

Annual inflation in Bulgaria is 16.9%, reports the National Statistical Institute.

Monthly inflation for December 2022 is 0.9%, and annual inflation is 16.9%. Inflation is measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI), with monthly inflation for December 2022 compared to the previous month and annual inflation for December 2022 compared to the same month of the previous year.