French Business Confidence Weakens; Portugal

Arthi Gupta
09 Jun, 2011
New York City

French non-farm payrolls rose and German labor costs increased in the first quarter. The GDP in many nations in the euro-zone expanded in the first quarter. Greek economic growth in the first quarter was revised lower to 0.2%.

[R]1:00 PM Frankfurt – French non-farm payrolls rose and German labor costs increased in the first quarter. The GDP in many nations in the euro-zone expanded in the first quarter. Greek economic growth in the first quarter was revised lower to 0.2%.[/R]

French Payrolls Rise, Confidence Declines

Payroll employment in France''s principal market sectors that excludes agriculture and some public services increased in the first quarter, latest data from the statistics office INSEE showed.

Employment increased 0.4% on a quarterly basis in the first quarter, after a 0.3% gain in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, 58,200 jobs were created, which was higher than an increase of 48,300 in the previous quarter.

Annually, payroll employment rose 1.1% during the period. Compared to the same period last year, 181,700 jobs were added.

French business confidence declined in May to 103 from a downwardly revised 106 in April, survey results from the Bank of France showed today.

German Labor Costs Up, Factory Turnover Slows

German labor costs per hour worked rose a seasonally and calendar adjusted 2% in the first quarter, faster than the 0.8% increase in the previous quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said today.

The statistics office said that this was the second-largest increase in labor costs since the series began in 1997. Annually, labor costs increased a calendar-adjusted 2.8%, faster than the 1.1% rise in the fourth quarter.

Germany''s manufacturing turnover increased a working day adjusted 10.1% annually in April, slower than the 10.5% rise seen in March, preliminary data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed.

On a monthly basis, factory turnover rose a seasonally and working day adjusted 0.6% in April, following March''s revised 1.1% growth.

Estonia GDP Expands, Trade Deficit Widens

Estonia''s gross domestic product advanced 8.5% annually in the first quarter compared to the initial estimate of 8%, latest data from Statistics Estonia showed. This was the fastest expansion of the economy since the first quarter of 2007, when GDP rose 9%.

The economy expanded for the fourth consecutive quarter and followed a 6.7% growth in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Estonia''s trade deficit widened from last year in April, data released by Statistics Estonia showed on Thursday. The country''s trade deficit widened to €87.3 million in April from €17.2 million last year.

Export of goods climbed 60% to €1.09 billion in April from €680.7 million in April 2010. Total imports grew 68% to €1.18 billion in April from €697.9 million last year.

Greece GDP Expansion Revised Lower

The Greek economy climbed 0.2% sequentially in the first quarter, which was revised down from the 0.8% growth estimated in May, data from Hellenic Statistics Authority showed on Thursday. That follows last quarter''s 2.8% contraction.

On an annual comparison, the economy shrank 5.5% versus a fall of 7.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The annual fall for the first quarter was revised from 4.8%.

Hungary''s GDP Grows

Hungary''s economy expanded 0.7% on a quarterly basis in the first three months of 2011, the Hungarian Central Statistics Office said. The first quarter growth matched initial estimate and follows 0.5% expansion in the fourth quarter.

Portugal GDP Contracts

The Portuguese gross domestic product contracted by a revised 0.6% sequentially in the first quarter, after logging a similar rate of decline in the fourth quarter, a report from Statistics Portugal showed today. The initial estimate had showed a 0.7% decline for the first quarter.

On an annual basis, GDP fell 0.6%, revised from the 0.7% decline estimated previously. The decrease reversed 1% growth during the fourth quarter.

Czech GDP Quickens

Czech economy expanded faster than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2011, latest data from the Czech Statistics Office showed on Thursday.

The gross domestic product rose 0.9% on a quarterly basis on a seasonally and working day adjusted basis. The growth was faster than the preliminary estimate of 0.6%.

Czech Inflation Increases

Consumer price inflation in the Czech Republic increased 2% annually in May, faster than the 1.6% rise in April, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Thursday.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices, which contributed significantly to the latest growth, rose 1.2% annually, while housing costs and utility prices climbed 0.5% in May.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged higher 0.5% in May, after growing 0.3% in April.

Dutch Inflation Climbs

Dutch consumer price index increased 2.3% on an annual basis in May, faster than April''s 2.1% growth, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed. The latest growth was the biggest since December 2008, when prices grew 2.5%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices grew 2.7% annually, while clothing and footwear prices climbed 0.4 % in May.

Portuguese Inflation Eases

Portugal''s consumer price index rose 3.8% annually in May, slower than the 4.1% growth recorded in April, data released by Statistics Portugal showed on Thursday. The transport sector, housing, utilities and food were the major contributors to the latest growth in consumer prices.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices declined 0.1% in May, reversing April''s 0.4% increase.

Dutch Industrial Production Slackens

Industrial production in the Netherlands rose 0.8% annually in April compared to the 3.1% increase in March, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. Output growth slowed for the second consecutive month.

Separately, the statistics office reported that Dutch industrial turnover grew 13% annually during April, slower than the 17.4% growth in March. Industrial orders grew 4.7% in April versus the 18.9% increase in March.

Denmark Industrial Production Improves

Danish industrial production increased at a faster pace in April, data released by the statistics office showed.

The seasonally adjusted industrial output grew 2.6% on a monthly basis in April, following a revised 2.1% gain in March. The previous month''s figure was revised up from 0.2%.

Annually, industrial production increased 2.9% in April.