German Inflation at 2.4%; French Industrial Output Falls

Arthi Gupta
10 Aug, 2011
New York City

French industrial output fell and current account deficit narrowed in June. German annual inflation was at 2.4% and Portugal inflation eased to 7-month low in July. Norwegian factory price inflation was 16.1% in July.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – French industrial output fell and current account deficit narrowed in June. German annual inflation was at 2.4% and Portugal inflation eased to 7-month low in July. Norwegian factory price inflation was 16.1% in July.[/R]

French Industrial Output Falls, Deficit Narrows

French industrial production declined 1.6% on a monthly basis in June, according to data published by the statistics office Insee today. From a year ago, total industrial output grew 2.1% in June.

Manufacturing output also declined 1.9% on a monthly basis in June compared to the 1.4% increase in May. On a yearly basis, manufacturing output grew 3.8% in June.

The French current account deficit narrowed to €3.4 billion in June from the €5.5 billion shortfall in May, the Bank of France said on Wednesday.

The goods trade showed a deficit of €5.8 billion in June compared to the €7.5 billion shortfall in May. At the same time, the surplus in services account rose to €1.5 billion in June from €0.8 billion in May.

German Inflation Rises

Germany''s consumer price index rose 2.4% in July as against 2.3% in June, final data published by the Federal Statistics Office showed. Inflation remains above the two-percent threshold.

Monthly inflation rose to 0.4% in July from 0.1% in June. Both annual and monthly inflation figures matched initial forecast.

Portugal Inflation Eases

Consumer prices in Portugal increased 3.18% from a year ago in July compared to the 3.36% rise in June, data from Statistics Portugal showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index fell 0.1% on a monthly basis in July after a 0.2% drop in June driven by changes in the prices of clothing and footwear, the statistics office said.

Danish Inflation Slackens

Danish inflation eased to 2.9% in July from 3% in June, according to a report released by Statistics Denmark today. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.1% in July.

From a year ago, prices of food and beverages grew 4.1% in July.

Norwegian Inflation, PPI Up

The consumer price inflation in Norway rose to 1.6% in July from 1.3% in June, data from Statistics Norway showed.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index dropped 0.2% in July.

Separately, the statistics office reported that the factory price inflation was 16.1% in July mainly due to higher costs involved in extraction of oil and natural gas and higher prices of refined petroleum products.

On a monthly basis, the producer price index increased 1.6% in July driven by price rises of crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products.