Hungary tightening, ruble strength, Bulgaria support

Officials in Hungary sought this week to reassure investors that they will tackle inflation and mounting macro imbalances. Tighter policy is needed, which underpins our below-consensus growth forecasts. Elsewhere, the Russian ruble strengthened beyond 60/$ this week – its strongest level since 2018 – which, combined with the stabilising inflationary backdrop, will give the CBR the confidence to ease capital controls and cut interest rates further. Finally, Bulgaria announced measures to shield the economy from high inflation this week, but we doubt that it will be enough to prevent a recession.