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Health restrictions implemented in front of a new wave of the Covid 19 pandemic dominated by the Omicron variant seem to have had only a mild impact on growth in early 2022, and the gradual lifting of these restrictions bodes well for a rebound in growth. These disruptions occurred in the midst of a rather favourable environment.
The issue of de-industrialisation is often raised in France. Indeed, manufacturing now represents only 13% of GDP and 12% of payrolls (against 19% and 15% respectively in 2000). Capacity in French industry peaked in the early 2000s, before experiencing multiple setbacks; in parallel, industrial employment fell, and the trade deficit widened. Production capacity has reduced further in recent years and is nearly 20% lower than it was in the early 2000s. Although order books are overall the same as in 2018, production capacity is nearly 6% lower, which may explain why French industry is struggling to keep up with demand. A rebuilding of production capacity would be possible
French industry is benefitting from helpful conditions. Production has been boosted by order books that have filled up since spring 2021 and by growing capacity to meet this demand. The INSEE January 2022 business survey showed that inventories of finished products had increased to nearly 84% of their normal level, something not seen since mid-2020. This phenomenon is particularly visible in intermediate goods sectors. In chemicals, plastics and packaging (the ‘wood and paper’ segment), the percentage of current inventories in proportion of a normal level has bounced back even though it remains below this normal level. In metals and electrical equipment, very high inventory levels reflect very strong activity
The Ukrainian economy has suffered an accumulation of external and domestic shocks: the pandemic (vaccination rates are still low), the ongoing geopolitical risk, and domestic political tensions. Adding to these factors, inflation has accelerated over the past year. However, the Covid-19 crisis has been much better absorbed than was the case for the crises of 2008 and 2014. The current account balance has recovered and foreign currency reserves have increased, thanks in particular to higher commodity prices (cereals and metals). International support (mainly from the IMF and European Union) provided the required complement, allowing fiscal support to the economy. However, the country remains exposed to a sudden stop of capital flows
The French economy seems to be getting off to a relatively good start in 2022, despite the introduction of tighter restrictions as a result of the Omicron wave. Positive momentum in the fourth quarter of 2021 – likely to be confirmed by GDP figures due on 28 January – has continued overall in the manufacturing and construction industries.
The first indications for Q4 2021 suggest that the main confidence indicators are holding at high levels, especially business sentiment. The improvement in the French labour market observed over the past several months also seems to be continuing. With Q3 GDP growth recently confirmed at 3% q/q, France should have no trouble reaching our full-year 2021 forecast of 6.7%. Even so, our Pulse seems to suggest that growth is slowing, held back by several headwinds. The first is the lag between order books and the turnaround time necessary for companies to meet demand. Order books have been full for several months, but supply disruptions are accumulating.
Manufacturing in Poland, as in the other central European countries, has been hit by increasingly severe shortages of inputs. Numerous components are in short supply, from semi-conductors to plastic parts. As a result, automobile production is down 15% from the high of year-end 2020, while electrical equipment is down 8% compared to the May 2021 peak. In both cases, production declined even though order books are relatively strong. Moreover, they have had a direct impact on the current account balance, which suddenly dropped from an average monthly surplus of EUR 500 m in H1 2021 to a deficit of about EUR 1.5 bn a month starting in July
Hungary is benefiting fully from a high international trade exposure, which is now driving its growth. Supply-side pressures are increasing, with high capacity utilisation rates and rising scarcity of labour. These local issues come on top of global industrial shortages. This has resulted in a significant acceleration in inflation, to which the Central Bank has responded with its first policy rate increase in 10 years. Nevertheless, monetary policy remains relatively accommodative, as the Central Bank has acquired the equivalent of nearly 5 points of GDP of government debt in 2021. This support is important in a context where access to European funding (including the resilience and recovery plan) remains subject to sticking points (notably the rule of law clause)
Turkey is enjoying strong economic growth in 2021, following the credit-driven stimulus implemented in 2020. The cumulative performance over 2020 and 2021 has allowed the country to close the growth gap that resulted from the series of shocks between 2018 and 2020. Investment and the industrial sector have thus regained their previous size. Foreign currency reserves have recovered from the low levels they reached in 2020. Nevertheless, this has come at a price: inflation is running well ahead of levels seen in other emerging economies. As well as common factors (rising prices for oil and other commodities), there are specific country drivers (depreciation of the lira, untimely monetary policy decisions)
Covid-19 was only a temporary brake on Polish growth. The economy is outperforming its neighbours’, with a shallower recession in 2020 and an earlier recovery. Credit risk appears to be under relatively good control, despite high levels of participation for the loan repayment moratorium scheme. Supply side constraints are even raising fears of a temporary overheating of the economy, with an increase in inflation. However, a strong current account surplus and the good control of government debt are stabilising factors. Poland’s economic growth potential remains unchanged, even though the prospect of international tax harmonisation may slow down foreign investment.
The Romanian economy is in the midst of a spectacular rebound. Real GDP has already returned to pre-Covid levels, and growth should reach 8.2% in 2021. But this performance has been accompanied by high fiscal and external deficits. Consequently, contrary to the other Central European countries, public debt is unlikely to narrow by 2022. Private-sector borrowers benefited from a moratorium on debt payments, but debt formerly under moratorium now presents a non-performing loan ratio of 10.9%. Nonetheless, the banking system should be able to absorb these losses. However, one factor worth monitoring is the rapid growth in housing loans.
Growth in Central Europe looks set to accelerate in the 2nd quarter of 2021, after already a good performance in the 2nd half of 2020, as indicated by the capacity utilisation rate in the manufacturing sector. This highlights good resilience despite a shortage of chips in the automotive sector and a fairly severe 3rd wave of Covid in the 1st quarter of 2021. Improving business conditions in the industrial sector stem from the on-going recovery in demand, specifically for exports: this has already allowed economic activity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to move above pre-Covid levels, whilst the Polish and Romanian economies have returned to around pre-crisis levels. This performance should allow the region’s GDP to recover its pre-Covid levels before the end of 2021 (growth of 4
The November 2020 announcement that monetary policy would move in a new direction had tamed financial tensions. However, as the Central Bank Governor was removed in March 2021, uncertainty came back. Exchange rate depreciation pressures have reappeared and interest rates and risk premiums have risen. Growth support will be the top policy priority, but at the price of maintaining significant macroeconomic imbalances. Credit risk is not reflected into the non-performing loan ratio but the forbearance period which is allowing the postponement of their reporting will end at mid-2021. The observed corporate investment recovery is welcomed, as a precondition to improve potential growth, but other conditions such as productivity growth are still missing.
The country weathered the difficulties of 2020 relatively well, notwithstanding the recession that Covid-19 produced and the drying up of private capital inflows. Thanks to the improvement in the terms of trade, the current account surplus was sufficient to balance the existing gap. Over recent years, Ukraine has been able to improve its fiscal management, which helped to secure the support of international financial institutions. The challenge for the months ahead lies in a resumption of capital inflows and in the planned reforms to encourage investment and increase potential growth. It will be important to keep an eye on reforms in the banking sector, which relate both to the consolidation of the sector and to the improvement of the prudential and supervisory framework.
The second wave of Covid-19 that swept Poland in Q4 2020 was more severe than the first wave in Q2 2020. In contrast, economic growth was not hit nearly as hard thanks to the resilience of industrial output and demand (exports and household consumption). The authorities’ stimulus measures combined with industry’s competitiveness – which was not undermined much by the pandemic – bolstered growth, and the trade surplus increased. Against the background, a somewhat weak zloty is more a choice than a by-product of deteriorated fundamentals. The European budget agreement, as Poland is one of the main beneficiaries of the Recovery Plan, should provide additional support for growth.
Economic growth experienced several short-lived boom-bust wild swings in 2020, amplified by trade openness and the severity of the second wave of Covid-19 in the fall. However, the recovery in the 3rd quarter proved strong. Industrial production and exports both performed well, boosted by a stable exchange rate (and substantial foreign currency reserves). In addition, thanks to very modest debt levels, the government was able to offer rapid and substantial support to the economy.
In third-quarter 2020, Turkish GDP had already returned to pre-Covid levels. Turkey’s economic recovery can be attributed to massive policy support – both fiscal and monetary –, which also involves risks. Inflation is significantly above 10%, and unlike many other emerging countries, the current account swung into a deficit again, which triggered a sharp depreciation in the Turkish lira. Faced with rising tensions, President Erdogan voiced to change the direction of economic policy. It should now have two pillars: a more rigorous policy mix, with a monetary policy that targets a lower inflation rate and greater attractiveness for non-resident investors
The Hungarian economy was hit particularly hard by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2nd quarter of 2020, due to the weight of exports in its GDP. The shock seems to have been absorbed relatively well, with the government and central bank focusing on supporting the labour market and introducing the necessary moratoriums on interest payments and loan repayments. The stimulus measures introduced have been constrained in particular by the need to avoid an excessive depreciation of the forint. The reduction in government debt, interrupted this year, is likely to get back on track quickly, within the framework of an unchanged strategy: maintaining a moderate corporate tax in order to continue to attract foreign investment in the manufacturing sector.
Since late spring, Turkey has enjoyed a rapid, buoyant recovery. This is rather typical for an economy regularly hit by external shocks that are magnified by capital outflows. Turkey has managed to bounce back yet again thanks to strong economic policy support. The bad news is that it is accumulating several imbalances, including another significant current account deficit and a sharp increase in credit growth, which is accelerating faster than during previous recovery phases. These two factors, which put downside pressure on the lira while driving up inflation, signal a deterioration in the quality of growth and imply higher debt ratios.
The Polish economy has to smooth the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit not only through the decline in foreign demand but also through the lockdown’s impact on domestic consumption. Yet the country has enough policy leeway to do so, thanks notably to a reasonable level of public debt before the slowdown began. GDP is unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels before mid-2021, which is bound to curb investment. Thereafter, Poland is expected to return to its robust growth trajectory since its strengths remain intact (competitiveness, labour supply, low wage costs and productivity gains), which have transformed the country into the European Union’s 5th biggest industrial sector.
Ukraine is usually quite prone to boom bust cycles. Yet high volatility has not allowed to stabilize growth towards a higher level, and fickle capital inflows have reinforced the importance of funding from foreign institutions, notably from the IMF and the European Union. Such official financing, coupled with the structural progress it has made in recent years, seem to have helped the country to cope with the Covid-19 crisis, at least for the moment, with fewer negative financial consequences than initially feared. Strong foreign demand for Ukraine’s grain, lower oil prices and the foreign financing are all favourable factors that have helped the country weather the crisis, and raise hopes for a rapid economic recovery once the Covid-19 crisis is over.
The Central European countries are exposed to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on trade flows, through their integration in multi-country supply chains. In the short term, it creates spillover effects from the contraction in economic activity observed in Western Europe, particularly in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, via the automotive sector. Although the Central European countries moved up the value chain in the automotive industry, the proportion of a vehicle built locally has not widely increased in recent years
Central Europe has registered a better growth performance in Q1 (-1% q/q), compared to -3.3% in the European Union. In Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria economic growth had even remained positive during this period. However, this Q1 growth performance is rather the consequence of a late impact of the Covid-19 than a byproduct of a lower impact. Manufacturing production figures show that the economic downturn has gathered pace in Central Europe in March. This downturn is now stronger in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia than in European Union’s average. Exports should be one of the main drivers of the contagion towards Central Europe
The Turkish economy is facing problems of a sort it has dealt with in the past: a global crisis, that will trigger a sharp fall in exports, coupled with a contraction of external financing. Unlike in 2018, Turkey’s economy does not appear to be overheating, whilst the fall in oil prices and the emergence of a current account surplus are two factors that will reduce the risk. That said, the relatively weak levels of currency reserves, the high level of external debt and the recent rise in non-performing loans are all significant risk factors. In front of the current shock, the economic policy response will have to address foreign currency liquidity needs properly in a context of dwindling capital flows.
Romania’s economy has become gradually unbalanced in recent years, ending 2019 with significant twin deficits, i.e. both a fiscal deficit and a current account deficit. An accommodative fiscal policy has stimulated growth and should continue to do so. Even so, Romania will not avoid a contagion effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout. The country is bound to slip into recession even though growth has already dwindled. Though foreign currency liquidity is still sufficient, its relatively low level could constrain monetary policy: a stable exchange rate is key for an economy that still has a significant amount of euro-denominated debt, albeit much less than before.
