Description:
The economic recovery in the Western Balkans continued during the third quarter of 2017 with annual GDP growth at around 2.5% across the region. Private consumption and investment continued to support growth and exports seem to have regained momentum. Annualised current account deficits narrowed further in almost all countries, but overall external positions in many cases remain vulnerable. Economic expansion led to further job creation but at a slowing pace and with marginal or no quarter-on-quarter improvement in the unemployment rate in most countries. The jobless rate still remains high across the Western Balkans. Progress in fiscal consolidation seems to be slowing down in some countries, despite the fact that high public debt levels remain a source of vulnerability in several of them, especially given no or limited monetary policy autonomy. In Turkey, annual GDP expansion reached almost double-digit level in the third quarter due to a low base and the impact of various government stimulus measures, but macroeconomic imbalances such as high inflation and a sizeable current account deficit persist.