All analysis from category Macro comment
Macro comment
Retail in August: Decline in sales in virtually all sectors
Retail sales experienced a continuous month-on-month decline for the fifth month in a row. Households, facing rising costs through high inflation and declining real incomes, are cutting back their consumption more and more. In August, sales fell in virtually all product groups. A change in behaviour is not expected in the coming months. Retail sales excluding motor vehicles fell 0.7 percent month-on-month on a calendar- and seasonally-adjusted basis. Year-on-year, retail sales fell by 8.8 per cent on a calendar-adjusted basis.
Macro comment
State budget for September: on the way to a full-year deficit of around CZK 400 billion
In January-September, the central government ran a deficit of CZK 271 billion, while in September alone the deficit was CZK 40 billion. The twelve-month balance currently stands at CZK 364 billion. Tax revenue and expenditure are basically on track. More than 75% of the full-year plan has been collected, while about 75% of the full-year plan has been spent. Revenue from the EU is lagging behind, with only 40% of the full-year plan collected so far.
Macro comment
PMI in September: Hard winter is coming
The development of business conditions continued in September with negative sentiment. The combination of high inflation and falling production due to reduced household demand is causing considerable wrinkles on the foreheads of businesses.
Macro comment
Consumer prices in August: More expensive housing, cheaper gasoline
Inflation is losing strength. For now. Last month, prices rose at the slowest pace this year. The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in August, while annual inflation slowed from 17.5 percent to 17.2 percent.
Macro comment
Unemployment in August: Rise again
The share of unemployed persons in the 15-64 population increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.4% in August. 252 thousand jobseekers were registered at the labour offices, 11 thousand more than in July. Unemployment tends to be rather stagnant in August. The labour market situation thus deteriorated slightly in August (according to our estimate, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 3.4% to 3.5%).
