Euro Area Inflation at 2.7%; French Debt to GDP at 84.5%

Arthi Gupta
30 Jun, 2011
New York City

Euro area inflation remained flat at 2.7% in June. German jobless rate declined in June. French producer prices rose less than estimated in May. Hungary surplus improved and Denmark GDP contracted in the first quarter.

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – Euro area inflation remained flat at 2.7% in June. German jobless rate declined in June. French producer prices rose less than estimated in May. Hungary surplus improved and Denmark GDP contracted in the first quarter.[/R]

Euro Area Inflation at 2.7%

Euro-zone annual inflation remained at 2.7% in June, a flash estimate released by Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union said today. The statistics office is slated to release final figures on July 14.

The European Central Bank aims to maintain inflation ""below, but close to 2 percent."" Inflation has been staying above the central bank target since December 2010.

Euro-zone M3 Money Supply Grows

Euro-zone''s M3 money supply grew at an annual rate of 2.4% in May compared to a 2% rise in April, data from the European Central Bank showed today.

M1 or narrow money increased 1.2% annually in May compared to a 1.6% rise in April.

The monthly Euro-coin indicator recorded its first fall this year, dipping to 0.52% in June from 0.62% in May. The result reflected performance of share prices and the results of business opinion surveys, the report said.

German Retail Sales, Jobless Rate Decline

Retail sales in Germany decreased 2.8% on a monthly basis in May after adjusting to seasonal and calendar variations, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed. In April, sales remained unchanged.

Annually, retail sales rose 2.2% in May compared to an annual growth of 3.7% in April.

Germany''s jobless rate remained unchanged in June at a record low, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at the record low of 7% in June and the number of unemployed decreased by 8,000 to 2.97 million in June from the prior month.

Estonia Retail Sales Slackens

Estonia''s retail sales, excluding automobiles, increased 2% annually in May compared to the 4% growth recorded in April, data released by Statistics Estonia showed on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, retail sales advanced 6% in May, after rising 2% in April.

Norwegian Retail Sales Climb

Norway''s retail sales volume, excluding automobiles, increased 6.8% annually in May, data released by Statistics Norway showed on Thursday.

In value terms, retail sales advanced 6.8% in May.

On a monthly basis, retail sales grew a seasonally adjusted 1.2% in May.

Portuguese Retail Sales, Industrial Output Drop

Portugal''s retail sales decreased a calendar and seasonally adjusted 7.9% annually in May, faster than the 4.5% fall recorded in April, data released by Statistics Portugal showed on Thursday.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco products dropped 1.9% and sales of non-food products fell 13.6% in May.

On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped 3.1% in May, reversing the 2.7% gain recorded in April.

Separately, the agency said Portugal''s industrial production decreased 0.3% annually in May, slower than the 1.6% decrease in April.

On a monthly basis, industrial output grew 2.8% in May versus the 3.6% fall in April.

French Producer Prices Up, Consumer Spending Falls

French producer prices rose 6% annually in May, the statistics office Insee said today.

On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.5% in May, reversing the 0.8% rise in April. The sharp decrease in petroleum product prices was the major reason behind the monthly fall in overall producer prices.

Prices in production mining, energy and water dropped 1.8% on a monthly basis in May but prices of food and beverages climbed 0.4%.

Separately, consumer spending in France dropped 0.8% on a monthly basis in May, following a revised 1.4% fall in April, data released by the statistics office INSEE showed today.

The latest decline is attributed to a fall in consumption of food products and engineered goods, especially textile and leather products.

Spending on food products fell 1.7% in May, after rising 1.4% in April.

French Public Debt Increases

France''s public debt increased by €54.9 billion to €1,646.1 billion in the first quarter, the statistics office Insee said today.

As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, the debt was equivalent to 84.5%, instead of 82.3% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. The government targets to maintain the debt at 85.4% of GDP this year.

Spain Inflation Slows

Spanish consumer prices increased 3.2% on a yearly basis in June, slower than the 3.5% increase in May, according to a flash estimate released by the statistics office INE.

Hungary Surplus Rises

Hungary''s current account surplus rose to €787 million in the first quarter from €604 million last year, central bank data showed on Thursday. In the fourth quarter, the surplus amounted to €360 million.

Denmark GDP Contracts, Unemployment Rises

The Danish economy shrank 0.1% on a quarterly basis compared to the 0.5% contraction estimated initially, Statistics Denmark said. This follows a 0.2% decline in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Denmark''s jobless rate increased to a seasonally adjusted 5.9% in May from 5.8% in April, data released by Statistics Denmark showed today.

Unemployment among youth, aged between 16 and 24, rose to 4.9% in May from 4.8% in April.

The number of unemployed persons increased to 161,900 in May from 159,300 in April.