Economy of the Arab League

BELGRADE - The Serbian parliament on Wednesday passed a 2023 supplementary budget bill under which budget revenues will total 1,904 bln dinars - 60.6 bln dinars more than initially planned.

The bill ensures an additional 23 bln dinars for new capital projects and investments.

BELGRADE - Serbia registered a 37.6 bln dinar budget surplus between January and July, which is 123.6 bln dinars better than the planned 86 bln deficit, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

Revenues totalled 1,089 bln dinars, while expenditures amounted to 1,051.4 bln dinars.

A 23.1 bln dinar surplus was registered in July, the ministry said in a statement.

Retail sales volume at constant prices increased by 28.5 percent in June from a year ago, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has said.

The pace of annual growth in retail sales, however, eased from May's 30.2 percent.

Greece has rebounded since the 2009-2018 financial crisis that saw real GDP decline by 25 percent. Modest growth began to return in 2019 and unemployment dropped from its crisis peak of 35 percent in 2013 to 12 percent in 2022, the State Department said in the 2023 Investment Climate Statements.

Salaries last year stood at 83.6% of the level they were at before the crisis, in 2009, while at prices without the inflation effect they were at just 71.3%, according to ELSTAT data processed by Eurobank and presented in its weekly bulletin.

This practically means that in the last 13 years purchasing power per employee has decreased by almost 30%.

The Hellenic Fiscal Council is predicting a slightly higher growth rate than the Stability Program, 2.6% against 2.3% for 2023, while for 2024 it is more pessimistic, expecting GDP to increase by 2.8% against the government forecast for 3%.

BELGRADE - Serbia registered a 34.8 bln dinar budget deficit between January and May 2023, which is 84.3 bln dinars better than the planned 119.1 bln, the Ministry of Finance has announced.

Revenues totalled 718.3 bln dinars, while expenditures amounted to 753.1 bln dinars, the ministry said.

A 0.8 bln dinar deficit was registered in May.

Türkiye's exports rose 14.4 percent from a year ago to $21.7 billion in May, after plunging 17 percent annually in the previous month, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

Imports, which declined nearly 5 percent in April, increased by 15.5 percent last month to stand at $34.2 billion.

Greece's current account deficit recorded an increase of 120.7 million euros year‑on‑year and stood at €1.8 billion in April, but fell €3 billion to stand at €5.6 billion in the January-April period, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday.

Production of the Turkish construction materials industry has exhibited an annual increase of 1.3 percent in March from a year ago, according to the data from the trading group.

The annual increase in the sector's output in the first half of 2023 was 1.2 percent, said the Association of Construction Materials Producers (İMSAD).