Euro Area Growth Weakens; Spain

Arthi Gupta
03 Jun, 2011
New York City

Euro-zone and French private sector growth eased in May. German private sector activity weakened to a seven-month low. The export price index in Spain rose at a slower pace in April. Romanian retail sales fell and Czech retail sales improved in April.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – Euro-zone and French private sector growth eased in May. German private sector activity weakened to a seven-month low. The export price index in Spain rose at a slower pace in April. Romanian retail sales fell and Czech retail sales improved in April.[/R]

Euro-zone Private Sector Growth Eases

Euro-zone private sector growth eased to a five-month low in May after recoveries slowed in all nations across the region.

The final composite output index fell to 55.8 in May from 57.8 in April, data released by Markit Economics showed on Friday but the index stayed above the flash estimate of 55.4.

French Service Sector Growth Slows

The French service sector increased at a slower pace in May, final data from a survey conducted by Markit Economics showed.

The CDAF/Markit purchasing managers index for the service sector dropped to 62.5 in May from 62.9 in April, which was the highest reading in ten-and-half years. The reading for May was revised down from the flash estimate of 62.8.

German Private Sector Activity Weakens

Germany''s private sector growth eased in May, data released by Markit Economics and BME showed today.

The composite output index, that measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors, dropped to 57.1 in May from 59.2 in April. This was the weakest reading in seven months.

Spanish Export Price Index Rises

Spain''s export price index increased 7.1% annually in April compared to the 7.8% rise in March, data released by the National Statistics Institute showed.

Consumer goods prices in April increased at 3.6% annual growth and a 1% rise in the prices of capital goods.

On a monthly basis, export prices grew 0.6% in April, following March''s 0.8% growth.

The import price index climbed 10% annually in April, after increasing 10.9% in March. On a monthly basis, import prices rose 0.5% in April, following March''s 1.1% rise.

Romanian Retail Sales Fall

Romania''s retail sales excluding automobiles, dropped a working day and seasonally adjusted 6.2% annually in April, data released by the National Institute of Statistics showed on Friday. Sales of food products declined 0.1% during the month.

On a monthly basis, retail sales decreased a working day and seasonally adjusted 1.8% in April.

Czech Retail Sales Improve

The pace of growth in Czech retail sales improved for the first time in three months, data released by the Czech Statistics Office showed on Friday.

On a working and calendar day adjusted basis, retail sales increased 4.6% annually in April. On a monthly basis, sales adjusted for seasonality and working and calendar day adjusted rose 0.3% in April.