**EMERGECW**→ **Romania** → Prices → BNR Inflation Target and Forecast → Financial Market Projections

Quarterly forecasts for Romania were added to the **EMERGECW** database. These series have a forecast horizon of 2 years and include series for overall inflation, core inflation, fuel, energy, food and administered prices. Also included are inflation target forecasts and forecast uncertainty for CPI, both with upper and lower bounds. These data are sourced from the National Bank of Romania and start in Q4 2023.

Chart: Since the November 2025 report, overall inflation forecasts for 2026 in Romania worsened from a quarterly average of 6.5% to 6.8% in the February 2026 report. Energy inflation increased almost a full percentage point for 2026 from a quarterly average of 9.9% to 10.8%. Note that the February report was released a full 10 days prior to the February 28 attacks on Iran, so it will be interesting to see how these forecasts change when the National Bank of Romania updates them in May.

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**SURVEYS** → Consumer Indicators → Survey of Consumer Pay Choice

The Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice for the US was added to **SURVEYS**. This survey reports the number, $ value, and shares of payments by transaction type and by payment instrument. It also reports consumers’ adoption of bank and nonbank payment accounts, use of payment instruments, rankings of instruments for security and other characteristics, and preference for using payment instruments for specific types of transactions. Annual data are sourced from FRB Atlanta and start in 2015.

Chart: In 2024, there were statistically significant increases in the number of all payments compared to 2023 – they increased by almost three payments, or 5.4%, to 48 on average per consumer per month. Consumers continued their move away from paper payment methods as lower shares were reported using cash and checks. The number of cash payments decreased by 8.2% YoY. Payment cards retained their dominance in the consumer sphere, representing 2/3 of payments by number.

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**EMERGEMA** → **Saudi Arabia** → Business Cycle Indicators and Surveys → Business Confidence Index

Saudi Arabia's Business Confidence Index was added to **EMERGEMA**. An overall index plus detail for the construction, industrial and services sectors are available. Data are reported on a scale from 0-100, with 50 representing the neutral level. Values above 50 indicate optimism, while values below 50 reflect pessimism. Monthly data are sourced from the General Authority for Statistics and start in January 2023.

Chart: In February 2026, the BCI for the construction sector recorded a MoM decline of 1.6 points. The industrial sector recorded a slightly larger decline of 2.2 and the services sector declined by 0.5 compared to January. All sectors attributed these declines in confidence levels to input cost concerns. The overall index declined by 1.5 points, but continues to reflect prevailing optimism despite the gradual downward trend since early 2025.

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**BENELUX** → **Netherlands** → Financial → Money, Banking and Credit → Pension Assets by Currency

Pension fund asset statistics by currency of investment for the Netherlands were added to **BENELUX**. Series are available for all pensions funds, company, industry-wide and other pension funds. Euro and non-euro denominated assets including in British pounds, Japanese yen, US dollars and other currencies are also available. Quarterly data are sourced from De Nederlandsche Bank and start in Q1-2015.

Chart: Dutch pension funds have been reducing their overall exposure to dollar assets. At the end of 2025, they held €541bn in dollar-denominated investments, down from €648bn at the end of 2021. Over the same period, euro-denominated investments increased from €752bn to €935bn. Drivers for this include heightened USD volatility, growing concerns over the US debt load, as well as policy and tariff uncertainty under the Trump Administration.

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Featured Data Additions, March 18, 2026

**CANADA** → Financial → Debt Securities by Sector, Currency, Maturity, Type of Interest Rate

Over 5,000 series relating to Canadian debt securities issues were added to **CANADA**. Detail is available by sector (private vs public), currency (C$ vs foreign currency), maturity (ST vs LT), type of interest rate (fixed vs variable) and market of issuance (domestic vs foreign). These quarterly data are sourced from Statistics Canada and start in Q1 2012.

Chart: The stock of Canadian debt securities, in book value terms, reached $6,321 billion at the end of Q3, up $127 billion from the previous quarter. By sector of issuer, the stock issued by governments was the highest, at $2,822 billion, followed by financial corporations ($2,580 billion) and non-financial corporations ($919 billion). The government sector became the main borrowing sector starting in Q1 2021, a period marked by strong borrowing needs related to the COVID pandemic.

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**UK** → Employment, Earnings, Productivity & Costs → Redundancies → Potential Redundancies from HR1 Forms

Employers in the UK are required to notify The Insolvency Service of potential redundancies via an HR1 form when they are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at a single establishment within a period of 90 days. These potential redundancy statistics were added to the **UK** database. A total plus detail for eight broad sectors is available. Monthly data are sourced from the ONS and start in April 2019.

Chart: The number of people officially at risk of redundancy jumped by 29% MoM in January to 27,279. The worst-hit sector was _distribution, hotels and restaurants_, where there was a 272% MoM increase to 8,165. Businesses are dealing with higher taxes and wages and are battling to cut costs. These figures were released on the heels of unemployment already being at a 5-year high of 5.2% and the jobless rate for the young soaring to an 11-year high of 16.1%.

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**ANZ** → **New Zealand** → Demographics → Migration (Quarterly)

Migration statistics for New Zealand were added to the **ANZ** database. Series include departures and arrivals to and from Australia and to and from the rest of the world. Net series are also available. These quarterly data are sourced from Stats NZ and start in Q4 2003.

Chart: There was a net migration loss of 28,800 people to Australia in the year ended June 2025. This was made up of 19,200 migrant arrivals from Australia to New Zealand, and 48,000 migrant departures from New Zealand to Australia. New Zealand loses population to Australia primarily due to higher wages, a lower cost of living, better career opportunities, and active recruitment for skilled workers. Despite these departures, New Zealand still experiences a net gain from non-Australian migration.

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**EMERGEPR** → **Cambodia** → Financial → Money, Banking and Credit → Credit Granted by Microfinance Institutions

Microfinance institution statistics for Cambodia were added to the **EMERGEPR** database. Series include number of MFI branches, number of borrowers, and amounts of outstanding loans. These monthly data are sourced from the National Bank of Cambodia and start in April 2017.

Chart: By 2019, Cambodia had the highest microfinance debt per capita in the world, with much of its population struggling with over-indebtedness. By the end of 2023, significant decreases were driven by rising NPLs, economic slowdown, and reduced demand. This was compounded by industry-wide pressures regarding over-indebtedness, predatory lending practices, and tightening credit conditions. Since then, despite rising NPL rates, MFI lending has been increasing, but not at the double-digit rates seen prior to 2023. Loans outstanding currently stand at $5.8 billion USD.

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Featured Data Additions, March 11, 2026

**EMERGEPR** → **Philippines** → Public Finance and Debt → Holders of Onshore Government Securities

Ownership of onshore government securities statistics for the Philippines were added to **EMERGEPR**. Onshore securities are issued within the Philippines in Pesos targeting the domestic investor base. These series are reported as percentage shares of the total and cover the major holders. Quarterly data are sourced from the Central Bank of the Philippines and start in Q2 2022.

Chart: As of the end of September 2025, foreign holdings of onshore peso government securities rose to 5.9% from 5.1% at the end of Q2 2025. These percentages are significantly higher than only two years ago when the share was 1.7%. Meanwhile, resident investors held the remaining 94.1% of onshore government securities, with banks holding the largest share at 43.7%, followed by tax-exempt institutions (21.1%), other residents (13.8%), and the Central Bank of the Philippines (7.8%).

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**EMERGEMA** → **South Africa** → Financial → Debt → Infrastructure and Development Finance Bond

Infrastructure and development finance bond statistics for South Africa were added to **EMERGEMA**. Total issuance plus detail by the two maturities issued are available by type of bond holder which includes the foreign sector, monetary institutions, insurance companies and pension funds. Monthly data are sourced from the National Treasury and start in December 2025.

Chart: South Africa raised 11.8 billion rand in its first infrastructure-bond sale, drawing bids for more than twice the amount sought and boosting its construction-led growth plans. The main participants were local investors, particularly the pension funds which hold 86.2% of the debt. There was very limited direct interest from offshore accounts (<0.1%). Africa’s largest economy sold 7 billion rand of 10-yr debt and 4.8 billion rand of 15-yr notes. Bids for the securities exceeded 26 billion rand, reflecting strong market confidence.

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**EMERGELA** → **Guatemala** → International Trade and Balance of Payments → Exports and Imports by Country

Foreign trade statistics by country for Guatemala were added to **EMERGELA**. Import and export totals reported in thousands of US$ are available for over 170 countries that trade with Guatemala. These monthly statistics are sourced from Banco de Guatemala and start in January 2016.

Chart: The US remains Guatemala's top trading partner - receiving over 30% of its exports and driving its textile & apparel industry via CAFTA-DR. Since 2021, exports to the US have increased by 36.6% further cementing the deep economic partnership between the nations. China has emerged as its second-largest trading partner, driven almost entirely by imports, which have increased by 144.6% since 2021. However, exports to China are negligible, thus creating a lopsided, import-dependent relationship.

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**EMERGECW** → by Country → **Armenia** → Financial → Money and Banking → Level of Dollarization

Various measures of the level of dollarization for Armenia were added to the **EMERGECW** database. Dollarization refers to the extent to which a foreign currency (commonly the USD) replaces a country's domestic currency as the primary medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account. High levels often indicate past economic instability, high inflation, or low trust in national monetary policy. Monthly data are sourced from the Central Bank of Armenia and start in January 2006.

Chart: In January 2026, the dollarization rate in Armenia, in this case measured as the ratio of resident dollar deposits to total resident deposits, dropped to 33.2% - its lowest level since the beginning of the time series. It has been demonstrating a steady downward trend since January 2016, when it stood at 66.5%. An appreciating Armenian dram against the USD, proactive de-dollarization policies by the central bank, and significant Russian capital inflows have been the drivers of this trend.

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Featured Data Additions, March 4, 2026

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Featured Data Additions: March 2026

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