Economic situation of Estonia's main export countries improves
The economic situation of Estonia's main countries of consignment had improved in late 2015 and in the first quarter of 2016, although the general environment was still rather disadvantageous, the Bank of Estonia said on Wednesday.
In the past half year the confidence of trade partners improved, which in turn added confidence to the Estonian economy's growth outlook, economist at the central bank Taavi Kimmel wrote on the bank's blog.
The global environment was still unfavorable, with economic activity restricted by China's declining economic growth. Also, the economic growth outlook of the eurozone was still uncertain, Kimmel wrote.
Russia's poor economic activity, expected to be weak also in the future as a result of a decline in domestic demand and the weakening rouble, was still problematic for its main trade partners as well as Estonia, he added.
According to Kimmel, the economic growth of the main trade partners in the near future will be driven mainly by the consumption of households, which is supported by the stable condition of the labor market and slow price growth. For Estonia it was important that the global economy reached steady growth, as the import demand of its Nordic neighbors for Estonian goods depended on global demand and the economic environment, among other factors, Kimmel added.
Estonia's main countries of consignment in 2015 were Sweden and Finland, as well as the other Baltic States.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS