Inflation

Confidence among Turkish consumers improved for a second month in a row in April, according to a survey conducted jointly by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) and the Central Bank.

The headline consumer confidence index rose by 1.4 percent month-on-month to 80.5, after inching up 0.02 percent in March.

Any figure below the 100 mark indicates pessimism among consumers.

Traders are lookling ahead this week to the release of key U.S. inflation data and corporate earnings.

With Iran downplaying Israel's reported attack on the country, tensions between the regional rivals cooled.

While the situation remains tense, the lack of escalation over the weekend provided traders with an opportunity to pick up equities and helped push oil down.

Thousands of people have issued a call to boycott restaurants and cafes this weekend, accusing business owners of exploiting economic issues and inflation as an excuse to set exorbitant prices.

The boycott plea has resonated widely among the public, with several prominent figures lending their support.

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Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said they will continue to support the Central Bank's fight against inflation with fiscal policy.

The economic program aims to restore price stability and fiscal discipline while addressing macroeconomic challenges, such as reducing the current account deficit, Şimşek stressed.

If Bulgaria fails to meet European Central Bank inflation targets in June, its planned accession to the eurozone in 2025 could be delayed by months, the country's central bank governor has said.

The International Monetary Fund further predicts continued reduction in unemployment and a decline in inflation to around 2% by 2025

Eurostat's latest report revealed a slowdown in annual inflation across the European Union, with the figure dropping to 2.6% in March 2024 from 2.8% the previous month. Similarly, annual inflation in the euro area dipped to 2.4% from 2.6%. Compared to March 2023, the difference is stark, with annual inflation in the EU standing at 8.3% and 6.9% in the euro area.

In its latest macroeconomic forecast released on Tuesday, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) anticipates a 2.2% increase in Bulgaria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the year 2024, compared to 1.8% in 2023.

In a recent report by the National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria's annual inflation rate for March witnessed a notable deceleration, settling at 3% compared to the previous month's figure of 3.0%. This marks the lowest inflation rate observed in the country since July 2021, when it also stood at 3 percent.