Euro-zone Output Falls; German Employment Climbs 1.4%

Arthi Gupta
18 Aug, 2011
New York City

Euro-zone construction output decreased and Spanish banks'' bad loan ratio fell in June. German employment climbed in the second quarter. Portuguese producer price inflation eased to 7-month low in July. Dutch consumer confidence dipped in August.

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – Euro-zone construction output decreased and Spanish banks'' bad loan ratio fell in June. German employment climbed in the second quarter. Portuguese producer price inflation eased to 7-month low in July. Dutch consumer confidence dipped in August.[/R]

Euro-zone Output Slides

Construction output in the euro area declined 11.3% from last year in June, after recording a flat reading in May, data released by Eurostat showed today.

In EU27, construction output decreased 8.1% annually in June.

On a monthly basis, construction production declined a seasonally adjusted 1.8% in June reversing the 0.1% growth in May. In EU27, output decreased 1.3% sequentially in June.

Germany Employment Climbs

Germany''s employment rose 1.4% from a year ago in the second quarter, at the same pace as in the first quarter, data released by Destatis showed on Thursday

The number of employed rose by 553,000 annually to about 41 million in the second quarter, the highest level of employment for any second quarter since German unification.

Spanish Banks'' Bad Loan Ratio Drops

Spanish banks'' bad loan ratio fell in June, the Bank of Spain said. The ratio of bad loans to total lending declined to 6.42% in June, from 6.5% in May.

The amount of total doubtful debt for June was €116.61 billion compared to €117.43 billion in May.

Portuguese PPI Eases

Portugal''s producer price index rose 5.6% from a year ago in July as against the 5.8% growth in June, data released by Statistics Portugal showed on Thursday.

Prices of consumer goods rose 2.4% annually and intermediate goods prices advanced 5.2% in July.

On a monthly basis, producer prices gained 0.1% in July, from the 0.2% drop in June.

Dutch Jobless Rate Up, Consumer Confidence Dips

The jobless rate in the Netherlands increased to a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in July from 5% in May. In July 2010, the unemployment rate was 5.5%. The latest jobless rate was the highest since September 2010 rate of 5.3%.

The number of jobless persons rose 413,000 in July from 392,000 in June. In July 2010, the number of unemployed was 426,000.

Separately, the agency said the consumer confidence index in the Netherlands declined by 9 points to minus 21 in August.

The measure of households'' confidence in the economic climate fell by 22 points to minus 38 in August.

Greek Deficit Narrows

Greece''s current account deficit narrowed to €1.58 billion in June from €1.84 billion in the same period last year, data released by Bank of Greece showed.

The goods trade account showed a deficit of €2.09 billion in June, lower than the €2.27 billion deficit last year.