Spain's Jobless Rate Falls 1.9%; German Exports Up 18.8%

Arthi Gupta
02 Jun, 2011
New York City

The unemployment in Spain declined at a faster pace in May. German exports increased 18.8% in the first quarter. Romanian producer price inflation eased to 9.6% in April. The Hungarian trade surplus improved in March.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – Spain unemployment declined at a faster pace in May. German exports increased 18.8% in the first quarter. Romanian producer price inflation eased to 9.6% in April. Hungary''s trade surplus improved in March.[/R]

Spain Unemployment Drops

Unemployment in Spain declined at a faster pace in May, data from the Office of Public Employment Services showed today.

Registered unemployment decreased 79,701 or 1.87% on a monthly basis to 4,189,659 in May. The latest fall was the biggest for the month of May since 1997, and was faster than April''s 1.48% decline.

Unemployment among the youth, aged below 25 years, fell 3.61% on a monthly basis, while the number of jobless persons above 25 years dropped by 1.65% in May.

On an annual basis, the number of jobless persons in the country increased by 123,457 persons or 3.04% in May. In May 2010, the annual growth in unemployment was 12.3%.

German Exports Increase

Germany''s merchandise exports increased from last year in the first quarter, data released by statistics office Destatis showed.

Total exports increased 18.8% annually to €260.8 billion in the first quarter. Shipments to countries outside the European Union advanced 22.3%, while exports to the EU countries moved up 16.6% annually during the quarter.

Imports increased 20.9% annually to €220 billion in the first quarter.

Romanian Producer Price Inflation Eases

Romania''s producer price index increased 9.6% annually in April, slower than the 11% rise recorded in March, data released by the National Institute of Statistics showed.

There was a 2.25% annual rise in intermediate goods prices, and a 4.51% growth in capital goods prices. Durable goods prices and energy products prices rose 1.36% and 11.71% respectively in April.

On a monthly basis, producer prices moved up marginally 0.01% in April compared to March''s 1.1% growth.

Hungary''s Trade Surplus Improves

Hungary''s trade surplus improved to €839.7 million in March from €831 million in February, final data from the Hungarian Central Statistics Office showed on Thursday. The preliminary report estimated the March balance at €831 million.

In March, exports increased 18.4% annually, slightly above the preliminary estimate of 18% During the month, imports advanced 16.1% compared to the earlier estimate of a 15.8% rise.

Cyprus Annual Inflation Rises

The consumer price index in Cyprus increased 3.88% annually in May, faster than the 3.28% growth recorded in April. In May 2010, the inflation was 1.6%.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages advanced 6.04%, while clothing and footwear prices moved up 3.14% during the month.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices grew 0.5% in May, after rising 1.16% in April.