• Czech government approved updated Convergence Programme. According to current version deficit of public finances will reach 4% of GDP this year. Next year, it should decline to 3% of GDP, in 2009 to 2.6% of GDP and in 2010 to 2.3% of GDP. According to Minister of Finance Miroslav Kalousek euro adoption in 2012 in the Czech Republic should be possible.
• Industrial production increased by 9.8% y/y in January. Key information from these results is wide variety of sectors with double digit increases so the czech economy is not only about car production in the end.
• Construction sector increased its output by 29.2% y/y in January. Favourable weather contributed most to significant increase in volume of construction works in all parts of this sector. Average daily temperature in January was by 5.9 °C higher than the long-term average.
• Consumer prices in Hungary increased by 1.2% in February, as the price of natural gas and drugs were higher. Inflation increased to 8.8% y/y from 7.8% in January and reached its highest level for the last five years.
• Slovakia’s consumer prices increased by 0.2% in February when the biggest influence had higher costs of energies and living. Year-on-year inflation decreased to 2.7% from 3% in January.
• IfW Institute increased this year’s GDP estimate for Germany to 2.8% from 2.1%. Germany’s economy should not decelerate as were the previous estimates, but slightly accelerate.