Macroeconomics

The de-escalation of eurozone inflation, which fell to 9.2% in December, is not expected to convince the European Central Bank to ease its aggressiveness in interest rate hikes, at least for now, analysts note to Kathimerini, a mistake in policy and also its predictions - which have often proven wrong - not ruled out, as it risks acting excessively in its struggle to tame high prices.

Nearly two-thirds of chief economists polled by the World Economic Forum (WEF) forecast a global recession in 2023, although they are optimistic about inflation, Anadolu Agency reported.

There is a strong consensus that the outlook for growth this year is bleak, especially in Europe and the US, said the report published by the WEF.

Latest economic data shows the European Union may avoid a recession that was expected earlier and have a more shallow contraction instead, European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Monday.

In the UK, food inflation hit a record high of 13.3% in December.

Food prices hit a record high in December ahead of Christmas, new data shows.

Food inflation jumped from 12.4% in November to 13.3% in December at a time when families typically stock up on food for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Türkiye's annual inflation slowed sharply from 84.4 percent in November 2022 to 64.3 percent in December after peaking to 85.5 percent in October last year, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

The monthly increase in consumer prices also eased from 2.88 percent in November to 1.18 percent.

The Central Bank has said that under the inflation targeting regime, the medium-term inflation target of 5 percent set jointly with the government has been maintained.

Harmonized inflation in Greece "fell" to 9.8% in October, according to Eurostat data. At the same time, the consumer price index in the eurozone increased by 10.7%, setting a new record.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is pegged to make a fourth straight steep hike in the key interest rate this week as it battles surging costs, with its aggressive stance fueling expectations of a recession.

American households have been squeezed by soaring consumer prices, propelling economic issues to the top spot among voter concerns in upcoming midterm elections.

The Central Bank has lifted its end-2022 inflation forecast from a previous 60.4 percent to 65.2 percent.

The bank also increased its estimate for end-2023 from 19.2 percent to 22.3 percent but kept the forecast for 2024 unchanged at 8.8 percent.

Washington – Global economy is in trouble, but given the circumstances Slovenia is in a relatively good financial and economic shape, Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič and Banka Slovenije Governor Boštjan Vasle said at the end of the a meeting of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, US. The talks focussed on inflation.