Euro-zone Construction Output Declines; Trade Deficit Widens

Arthi Gupta
17 Jun, 2011
New York City

Euro-zone construction output declined and trade deficit widened in April. Europe new passenger car registrations increased in May. Spanish industrial orders and turnover growth rate slowed in April. Austria''s central bank lifted its growth forecast for the year.

[R]2:20 PM Frankfurt – Euro-zone construction output declined and trade deficit widened in April. Europe new passenger car registrations increased in May. Spanish industrial orders and turnover growth rate slowed in April. Austria''s central bank lifted its growth forecast for the year.[/R]

Euro-zone Construction Output Declines

Construction in the euro area decreased 2% annually in April, slower than the 4.9% fall in March, data released by statistics office Eurostat showed today. In EU27, output declined 1.2% in April, following the 2% decrease in March.

On a monthly basis, construction output in the euro area rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in April, reversing the 0.1% decline recorded in March. Construction output in EU27 dropped 0.9% on a monthly basis in April, after increasing 2.3% in March.

Euro-zone Trade Deficit Widens

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the euro area trade balance deficit widened to €2.9 billion in April compared to a shortfall of €2.2 billion in March, data from Eurostat showed.

Exports rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% on a monthly basis in April, the same rate of growth in March. However, the growth in imports rose to 1.1% in April from 0.3% in March.

Europe’s Auto Registrations Increase

European new car registrations increased in May after falling for two consecutive months, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers'' Association showed today.

New passenger car registrations increased 7.1% annually in May, following a 4.1% drop in April. In May, a total of 1,208,583 new cars were registered in Europe.

Spanish Industrial Orders, Turnover Rise

Spain''s industrial orders increased 5% annually in April, slower than the 10.1% growth recorded in March, data released by statistics office INE showed on Friday. The rise in April was the slowest since October 2010, when the growth rate was 2.1%.

Industrial turnover increased 5% on an annual basis in April compared to the 8.9% rise in March. The latest increase was the slowest since October 2010, when turnover rose 1.5%.

Austria Producer Price Inflation Slackens

Austria''s producer price index increased 5.1% annually in April, after increasing to a record high of 5.4% in March, data released by Statistics Austria showed on Friday. The latest increase was the slowest since December 2010, when prices rose 5%.

Energy prices climbed 10.2% annually and prices of intermediate goods rose 6.8% in April.

On a monthly basis, producer prices grew 0.6% in April, after rising 0.7% in March.

Italy Current Account Deficit Widens

Italy''s current account deficit widened from last year in April, data released by the Bank of Italy showed today. The current account deficit widened to €5.60 billion in April from €3.01 billion in the same period last year.

Austrian Central Bank Lifts Growth Forecast

Austria''s central bank lifted its growth forecast for 2011 citing strong exports and investment returns.

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank increased the 2011 growth outlook to 3.2% from 2.1% forecast in December. The projection for next year was maintained at 2.3% and estimated 2.4% expansion in 2013.