All analysis from category Macro comment
Macro comment
State budget in 2024: Higher taxes and flooding
On the surface, the state budget turned out well last year. The projected deficit adjusted for the floods was CZK 282 billion. The actual figure is CZK 271 billion. In reality, however, CZK 15 billion was spent on the floods, not the budgeted CZK 30 billion. In 2023, the deficit would reach CZK 289 billion. The budget has therefore improved year-on-year, but the planned deficit has been exceeded.
Macro comment
PMI in December: no improvement at the end of the year
Business conditions in December were below the neutral 50-point mark indicating a decline in business activity for the thirty-first month in a row.
Macro comment
CNB: Break in interest rate cuts
Last December, the CNB started a series of monetary easing and has continued it regularly this year. Only now has it decided to skip it. Already in advance, some board members had announced concerns about a renewed rise in inflation. Indeed, the previous period of higher inflation is still reverberating in the services segment. However, an overall view of the economic situation shows that monetary policy remains inappropriately tight.
Macro comment
Consumer prices in November: Increased inflation in services
More expensive fuel, a seasonal increase in clothing prices, and continued elevated inflation in services prices are the key attributes of November's price developments. The consumer price index increased by 0.1 per cent month-on-month, with annual inflation remaining at 2.8 per cent.
Macro comment
Unemployment in November: rise due to seasonal factors
November typically sees a lull in seasonal activity, especially in agriculture and construction, and this year is no different.
