German Business Sentiment Dampens; Spain

Arthi Gupta
21 Apr, 2011
New York City

German business sentiment fell in April. Dutch jobless rate steadied in March. Greece current account deficit narrowed in February. Spanish trade gap shrunk in February.

[R]12:15 PM Frankfurt – German business sentiment fell in April. Dutch jobless rate steadied in March. Greece current account deficit narrowed in February. Spanish trade gap shrunk in February.[/R]

German Business Sentiment Drops

German business confidence fell again in April, according to a monthly survey report from the Ifo institute released today.

The sentiment index dropped to 110.4 in April from 111.1 in March. However, the current conditions index rose to 116.3 in April from 115.8 in March.

Belgium Consumer Sentiment Improves

Belgian consumer confidence indicator edged up to minus 1 in April from March''s minus 2, data released by the National Bank of Belgium showed.

Greece Current Account Deficit Narrows

The current account deficit of Greece declined sharply to €1.96 billion in February from a €3.16 billion shortfall recorded in February 2010, the Bank of Greece said, reflecting a surge in current transfer receipts.

The current transfers balance showed a surplus of €668.7 million in February compared with a deficit of €383.3 million in February 2010, which was largely due to an increased general government receipts from the EU.

Spanish Trade Gap Shrinks

Spain''s trade deficit decreased to €3.25 billion in February from €4.93 billion in January, data released by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade showed.

In the January-February period, exports increased 26.9% to €33.09 billion from €26.08 billion in the same period last year. Imports grew 20.8% to €41.27 billion from €34.15 billion in the previous year. The trade deficit widened to €8.17 billion from €8.07 billion last year.

Dutch Jobless Rate Steadies

Unemployment in the Netherlands remained unchanged for a third straight month in March, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was at 5.1% in March, unchanged from the previous month. The number of unemployed decreased to 395,000 in March from February, when it rose to 400,000. The number of jobless youth, aged between 15 and 24, marginally declined to 77,000 in March from 79,000 in February.

Italy''s Non-EU Trade Deficit Widens

Italy''s trade with countries outside the European Union widened to €2.9 billion in March from €1.5 billion during March last year, the statistics office said.

In March, exports to non-EU countries increased 16.5% and imports rose 24.2%.