The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Lebanon to take urgent action to revive its economy. The IMF said that any further delay in fiscal reforms would increase Lebanon ’s financial problems. Lebanon ’s debt-to-GDP ratio is on the rise and soon interest rates will increase further, hurting the economy. The IMF described Lebanon ’s macroeconomic and financial situation as highly vulnerable and said that the economy’s underlying financial imbalances have increased.
Bank Negara Malaysia's Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz announced last Friday that the government has no plan to internationalise the ringgit. This would imply that the Ringgit will only be traded onshore. The Malaysian ringgit, which was pegged to the US dollar, was un-pegged by the government and moved to a managed float in July 2005.
Ukrainian inflation was 0.5% in May and has averaged 2.8% since the beginning of the year, the State Statistics Committee said. Ukraine posted deflation of 0.4% in April. Service prices grew 3.6% in May, which contributed to the rise in inflation, the committee said. Electricity, gas fuel and water prices rose after the National Commission for Regulating Electricity in Ukraine increased consumer gas and electricity prices 25% on May 1, and also increased gas prices for thermal energy firms and the government.
The Czech Republic’s industrial output rose 3.6%in April year-on-year, a slowdown from 17.9% in March, the Czech Statistical Office CSU said today. Industrial output in April was affected by a lower number of working days, two days less than in April 2005. Adjusted for the number of working days industrial output was up 7.6% on the year. The biggest contributor to industrial output growth was transport equipment manufacturing. The biggest decrease was recorded in chemicals and chemical products manufacturing.