BELGIAN
PRIME NEWS L Quarterly publication
Participating Primary and Recognised Dealers : Barclays, Belfius Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, ING, KBC Bank, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, Natwest (RBS), Nomura, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking
N° 81 September 2018 Last update : 28 September 2018 Next issue : Januari 2019
•• MACROECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS : Global environment clouded by trade tensions
•• SPECIAL TOPIC : The Belgian financial sector, ten years after Lehman Brothers
•• FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INTEREST RATES : Interest rates low for longer for most euro area sovereigns, in a context of higher risk premiums
•• TREASURY HIGHLIGHTS : Smooth execution of the 2018 funding plan.
CONSENSUS Average of participants’ forecasts
Belgium Euro area
2017 2018p 2019p 2017 2018p 2019p
Real GDP (1) 1.7 1.6 1.5 2.4 2.0 1.8 Inflation (HICP) (1) 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.5 1.7 1.6 General government balance (2) -1.0 -1.2 -1.4 -0.9 -0.8 -0.9 Public debt (2) 103.4 101.7 100.4 86.7 86.5 84.7
(1) Percentage changes. (2) EDP definition ; percentages of GDP.
SUCCESSIVE FORECASTS FOR BELGIUM