CEE in the Autumn of 2015 is the New Safe Haven

PoliticsInternational ♦ Published: September 25, 2015; 18:00 ♦ (Vindobona)

The key conclusion of UniCredit’s CEE Quarterly 4Q 2015 is that the CEE region, despite its heterogeneity, looks better positioned than most other large emerging markets to cope with potential challenges. In particular they found that market volatility spiked in 3Q15, with the uncertainty surrounding the anticipated Fed rate hike augmented by growing worries about a “hard landing” in China.

CEE in the autumn of 2015 is the new safe haven / Picture: © Vindobona.org

Against this backdrop, EM assets suffered with currencies depreciating, bond and equity prices soaring and growth prospects weakening.

In CEE, the difficult external environment amplified the growing divergence within the region.

While the region’s two largest economies – Russia and Turkey – suffered, the rest weathered the latest market disturbance largely …