CEE: Positive overall SDG progress

Erste Bank Research Team Erste Bank

On the radar

Romania’s industrial producer prices rose 8.8% y/y and 0.7% m/m for the month relative to July 2026
Today at 09:00, Czech 2Q wage growth will be released, with growth expected to slow to 5.2% y/y.
Croatian industrial production for July will be released today, with growth expected at 1.5% y/y.

Economic developments

Given that yesterday we published our annual SDG special report, Sustainable Development Goals in CEE, we take a closer look at how momentum towards the 17 goals has evolved across the region. Based on the weighted average for the CEE7, progress has accelerated most notably in life on land (SDG 15), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), and good health and well-being (SDG 3), while climate action (SDG 13) and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16) have lost momentum. The picture therefore points to continued advancement across several social and environmental goals but also highlights areas where the pace of convergence has weakened. Going forward, maintaining progress will increasingly depend on translating improvements in the stronger-performing goals into more persistent gains across those where momentum remains limited.

Market movements

CEE currencies were broadly stable against the euro, with the HUF modestly outperforming, firming around 0.2% d/d to 367.3/EUR, while the PLN, CZK and RON were little changed at around 4.33, 24.18 and 5.25/EUR, respectively. Regional bond markets remained under pressure due to the broader sell-off in European fixed income market. Higher energy prices and the acceleration of euro-area inflation have reinforced concerns that inflation could remain elevated for longer, supporting expectations of tighter monetary policy and keeping upward pressure on yields. Continued uncertainty surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and the latest escalations occurring there, add to these risks, particularly through the potential for renewed energy-price pressures, which could further complicate the inflation and monetary-policy outlook.

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Erste Bank Research Team

Erste Bank

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