Producer prices in Slovenia rose 3.9% year on year. Croatia recorded 2.4% real wage growth in August and a 3.4% unemployment rate in September, while Poland is due to publish September retail sales growth and Hungary will release an unemployment reading. OECD pension data show an uneven link between mandatory contribution rates and projected gross replacement rates: Czechia pairs 31.3% contributions with a 44.2% replacement rate, while Austria delivers 74.1% on 22.8%. Poland combines 19.5% contributions with a 28.6% replacement rate, and Slovakia reports 22.8% contributions alongside 58%; PAYG deficits are described as already large and set to widen with ageing populations. Household financial assets indicate insurance, pensions and standardised guarantees average 14% of holdings in CEE, ranging from 6% in Hungary to 23% in Croatia.
Currencies and Financial Markets
CEE currencies traded in narrow ranges, with EURCZK at 24.23, EURHUF at 364 and EURPLN at 4.35. Long-term yields pushed higher, and the US sold 20-year Treasuries at 5.469%, the highest for that maturity since 1986.
Policy and Budgets
Hungary’s 2027 budget proposal targets a 4.9% of GDP deficit, down from 7.5% in 2026, with a path to 2.8% by 2030 via front-loaded spending restraint, plus tax changes including a two-tier corporate income tax and higher levies on parts of the business sector. Czechia’s parliament has started proceedings on the 2027 state budget.
