MGI Weekly round-up | 6 April 2018

Stories MGI has been tracking this week:

  • Albanian protesters clash with police on the introduction of tolls
  • Ergodan and Putin launch construction of Turkey’s first nuclear plant 
  • Sisi wins Egyptian elections with 97% of the votes

And as always, we feature content from the MGI data and analysis platform, a summary of the week’s key statistical releases, and a look to the week ahead in data. This week, we use the MGI platform (WB section) to look at the production of electricity from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) in Turkey during the period 1990-2015.


Albanian protestors clash with police on the introduction of tolls

Thousands of Albanians protested Saturday against the introduction of toll charges on a road linking the country with Kosovo. The protesters pelted the police with stones and set toll booths on fire. Fees range from €2.5 for a motorcycle to €22.5 for heavy trucks. Last Thursday, the government said that lower charges will be imposed on frequent users.
 
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama has condemned violence. Construction of the road has not been completed and those who use it have to pay, the prime minister said. The Prime Minister of Kosovo described tolls as "excessive", while the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Albania said taxpayers have already paid a road tax, Reuters reports.
 

Ergodan and Putin launch construction of Turkey’s first nuclear plant

On Tuesday, the Presidents of Turkey and Russia marked the official start of work to build Turkey’s first nuclear plant, in Mersin province, southern Turkey, Reuters reports. The $20 billion power station will be built by the Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom and will consist of four units each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. The station is expected to cover about 10% of the country's energy needs while its first unit is scheduled to start producing electricity in 2023. The project is part of President Ergodan's "2023 vision" marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey, and it aims to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports.
 

Sisi wins Egyptian elections with 97% of the vote

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won the Egyptian presidential elections held last week. According to official results announced on Monday, Sisi won 97% of the vote – the exact figure he secured in the 2014 elections. However, tournout was lower compared to the 2014 elections and stood at 41%. Sisi’s announced share of the vote was 5% higher than the preliminary results released last week.
 
The former military commander faced no real opposition as the election featured only one other candidate, Mousa Mostafa Moussa – himself a supporter of Sisi – who won only 721,000 votes, Middle East Eye reports. 
 

Featured content from the MGI data and analysis portal

In this edition, we use the WB section of the MGI platform to look at the production of electricity from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) in Turkey. The period under consideration is 1990-2015.
 
As shown in the chart, oil, gas and coal sources were the main inputs used to produce electricity in Turkey. The indicator stood at around 60% during the 1990-1998 period and was close to or above 70% in subsequent years.It reacheda maximum value of 82.6% in 2008, while in 2015 (the last year for which data are available) it stood at 67.7%.

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The week in data

Highlights from national statistics releases tracked by MGI this week include:

 

 

Looking ahead

Next week, we expect inflation, industrial production and employment / unemployment figures for some Mediterranean countries. MGI’s complete data release schedule can be viewed at our release calendar section.
 
Monday 9 April, 2018:

  • Israel budget balance for March
  • France 3-month, 6-month and 12-month BTF auction

Tuesday 10 April, 2018:

  • France IPI for February
  • Italy IPI for February
  • Spain 3-month Letras auction
  • Israel tourist arrivals and business confidence for March
  • Egypt core inflation rate for March
  • Albania inflation rate for March
  • Slovenia IPI for February

Wednesday 11 April, 2018:

  • Italy retail sales for February and 12-month BOT auction
  • Croatia unemployment rate and employment for 2017Q4 (detailed data)
  • Malta IPI for February
  • Slovenia unemployment rate and employment for 2017

Thursday 12 April, 2018:

  • France domestic and harmonized inflation for March, final estimates
  • Italy 3-year, 7-year and 30-year BTP auction
  • Greece unemployment rate and employment for January
  • Montenegro inflation rate for February, final estimate
  • Montenegro inflation rate for March, preliminary estimate
  • Palestinian Territories inflation rate for March

Friday 13 April, 2018:

  • Spain domestic and harmonized inflation for March, final estimates
  • Greece inflation rate for March
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