Economy of the Arab League

The Greek trade deficit rose 18.4 percent in the first nine months of the year compared to 2016, to 16.13 billion euros, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) figures revealed on Tuesday, even though the monthly reduction of imports in September resulted in a slowdown in the growth of the deficit.

Thanks to the continued fiscal adjustment, Serbia is now running a significant fiscal surplus, the World Bank has said it a new report.

However, said the October 2017 Europe and Central Asia Economic Update Report, growth is slowing down in 2017, mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions - severe winter and a long drought - and a slowdown in investment.

After many growth-starved years in Greece, it is perhaps natural that the first thing people focus on when the government submits its national draft budget to Parliament is what it suggests about the prospects of gross domestic product increasing.

The number of international visitors to the United States has dropped for the first time since 2009, as did their spending, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Aug. 11.

In 2016, 75.6 million international travelers ventured stateside, a two percent drop from the previous year. Their spending also fell by one percent to $244.7 billion.

Turkey exported $2.08 billion worth of plastic products in the first six months of the year, marking a 1.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Turkish Plastics Industry Foundation (PAGEV) on Aug. 3.

During the first half of 2017, the country exported 798,000 tons of plastic products to around 150 countries, a press release said. 

Turkey's foreign trade deficit hit $7.3 billion in May with a nearly 43 percent year-on-year increase, official data showed on June 30. 

The tourism sector is showing genuine signs of growth this year that suggest it will be the main driver of the Greek recovery, as it will help state revenues, the private economy, the country's current accounts and employment. The government is for the first time speaking of 30 million arrivals in 2017.

Turkey's foreign trade deficit soared 49.5 percent in May due to a sharp increase in gold imports despite robust car exports, preliminary data from the Customs and Trade Ministry showed on June 2. 

The trade deficit rose to $7.65 billion in May, according to the ministry's data, which was compiled by Reuters. 

The EU expects Serbia's economic expansion to accelerate, forecasting the country's GDP growth rate to be 3.2 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018.

In its Spring 2017 Economic Forecast, the European Commission said "robust revenue growth" would support a "further budget deficit reduction", noting Serbia's domestic demand was "picking up, boosting imports and government revenues."

Turkey's year-on-year trade deficit rose by 15.8 percent in April to over $4.9 billion, according to a preliminary estimate revealed by the Customs and Trade Ministry on May 2.