WRAPUP 1-Second, domestic leg of crisis hits E.Europe in May
* Czech May retail sales fall 7.5 pct yr-yr
* Czech c/a shows first gap this year on dividend outflow
* Bulgarian c/a deficit almost halves to 5.8 pct/GDP
* Romanian c/a deficit shrinks 75 pct to EUR 1.8 bln
* Hungary shows last expected decline in inflation this year
PRAGUE, July 14 (Reuters) - Czech consumers hunkered down as foreign-owned firms sucked cash out of their subsidiaries there in May, data showed on Tuesday, putting pressure on an economy already reeling from a collapse in western European demand.
Other data showed Romania's current account gap shrank by three quarters and Bulgaria's by almost half, reflecting a similar drop in domestic demand but, in Bulgaria's case, also a steep fall in foreign investment.
And in Hungary, inflation eased for probably the last time in 2009 as a July hike in value added tax -- part of efforts to keep the budget in line with levels set under an IMF-led bailout -- is expected to push annual price growth above 7 percent.
The disparate data underscored how tightly the economic crisis has tightened its grip on central and Eastern Europe and the complexity of factors affecting invidual countries.
Already stricken by the swift turn to thriftiness in Western Europe that has killed foreign demand for the cars and electronics produced here, emerging Europe is now watching its own consumers snap shut their purses.
Rising joblessness and bankruptcy filings, as well as tight credit conditions that have strangled investment and consumer spending, indicate recovery has not begun, analysts said, while official policy tools have not been able to jumpstart lending or boost flagging confidence.
"Whereas the first leg of the crisis was led by industry, it will be sustained by the weakness in the consumer sector, not just in the Czech Republic but throughout central Europe. Poland is the same," said Neil Shearing of Capital Economics.
DOMESTIC DEMAND HIT Continued...
