Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima, has approved amendments to partially compensate electricity distribution tariffs in 2023, LSM reports. The government will cover 60% of the fixed part of electricity distribution tariffs from September 2023 until the end of the year, reducing electricity bills by an average of 18%. The support measure will cost around EUR 30.5mn,…
Estonia’s dwelling price index rose by 5% on year in the second quarter of 2023, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Apartment prices rose by 5.7% and house prices by 3.2%. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the index rose by 3.8%. Meanwhile, the owner-occupied housing price index rose by 10.6% on…
Average housing prices in Latvia rose by 5.6% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s provisional data, LSM reports. Prices of newly-built housing increased by 15.0% and old housing by 3.2% over a year. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, housing prices…
Lithuania’s GDP will decline by 1.4% in 2023 and grow by 2.9% in 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts, BNS reports. The country’s GDP will continue to rise by 2.7% in 2025, by 2.5% in 2026, by 2.2% in 2027, and by 2.1% in 2028, the IMF projects. Annual inflation will slow down to…
Apartment rental prices in Lithuania are 20% higher than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, LRT reports. In Vilnius, the rental price of a one-bedroom apartment is around EUR 1,000 or more per month in the city centre, EUR 700-800 in new buildings, and EUR 500 in old buildings. In Kaunas, rents are around EUR…
Many Estonian companies continue doing business with Russia, ERR reports. Altogether 500-600 Estonian businesses still trade goods with Russia. The total value of goods exported from Estonia to Russia has not changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when it amounted to EUR 50-70mn per month. This is partly due to the rise…
Latvia’s state-owned energy holding, Latvenergo, posted all-time record revenue and profit in the first half of 2023, LSM reports. The group’s six-month turnover amounted to over EUR 1.1bn, which was up 56% from the same period of 2022. The group’s profit rose by 57% to EUR 222.5mn. Latvenergo attributed the record performance to the spring…
Estonia’s real GDP will decline by 2.0% in 2023, according to the Ministry of Finance’s latest forecast, BNS reports. The GDP will grow by 2.7% in 2024, by 3.0% in 2025, by 2.5% in 2026, and by 2.2% in 2027, the ministry projects. Earlier, the ministry expected real GDP to drop by 1.5% in 2023…
Estonia’s producer price index (PPI) of industrial output fell by 3.2% on year in July 2023, according to Statistics Estonia’s data, ERR reports. Compared to June 2023, the PPI fell by 1.0%. Producer prices fell by 1.1% over a year in manufacturing but rose by 5.8% in food production. Export prices declined by 3.0% and…