Standard & Poor's has affirmed its B/B long- and short-term foreign and local currency credit ratings on Bosnia with a stable outlook. Bosnia must implement additional measures in order to meet its 2013 budget deficit target of 2% of GDP, the IMF said in a statement following a visit to Sarajevo in September 4-19 for the fourth review of the country’s EUR 390mn loan deal with the fund.

The EC and Bosnia have agreed to resume the third round of their high level dialog on EU accession on October 10 with Bosnian leaders committing to come back with clear solutions on the Sejdic-Finci issue and the arrangement of the coordination mechanism, the EC said in a statement.

On the economic front, the consumer price index fell 0.2% year on year in August 2013, registering annual deflation for the first time since November 2009. The industrial output rose 6.6% year on year in January-August on the back of higher manufacturing and electricity production.

The unemployment rate inched up to 44.6% at end-July from 44.4% the month before and was slightly higher than its end-2012 level of 44.5%.

The foreign trade gap declined 12.1% year on year to EUR 2.2bn in January-August due to rising exports (mainly manufacturing and electricity) and falling imports.
Bosnia’s commercial banks assets rose 3.3% year on year to EUR 11.7bn at end-August, following a 3.2% year on year growth a month earlier. Domestic loans grew 1.8% year on year to EUR 8.3bn as of end-August, easing from a 2.5% year on year rise at end-July due to slower corporate lending.Commercial bank deposits went up 5.4% to EUR 7.1bn at end-August, quickening from 5.0% the month before, thanks to both to stronger retail and corporate deposit collection.

The central bank gross foreign reserves rose 9.6% year on year to EUR 3.48bn at end-August, slowing from a 11.8% year on year rise the month before.