Intellinews - Albania Country Report - February 2012

Countries covered: Albania The IntelliNews Albania Country Report is a monthly report, covering the major macroeconomic indicators and trends in Albania, as well as important political developments. Prepared by local analysts, it provides the most accurate data, updated regularly according to the data changes noted by the whole range of statistics sources. It will save the time you would need to track the figures and sources independently and will provide you with thorough analysis.

Additional Information

Albania’s economy expanded by 2.6% y/y and by 1.8% on a quarterly basis in the third quarter of 2011. The growth speeded up from 0.9% y/y in the second quarter. The Albanian government targets a real GDP growth of 4.3% for 2012.

Rating agency Moody’s said an upgrade of Albania’s credit ratings would require a successful implementation of institutional reforms in the country, including improvement of judicial efficiency and success in the tackling of corruption. Consumer price inflation in the country eased for the fourth straight month in February with prices increasing by 0.6% y/y, slower than January’s rise of 1.6% y/y. Food prices remained the main growth driver.

Producer prices grew by an annual 2.1% in Q4 2011, decelerating for a second quarter in a row.

The manufacturing sector, which has the greatest weight of 57.4% in the producer price index (PPI), contributed the most to the overall growth. The unemployment rate remained flat on the quarter at 13.3% in Q4 2011. The number of unemployed Albanians edged down by 0.1% y/y to 142,950, while the country’s labour force rose by 1.5% y/y to 1.075mn, helped by increased hiring at private companies.