Euro Area Production Rebounds; Russia Holds Repo Rate at 5.25%

Arthi Gupta
14 Sep, 2011
New York City

Euro area industrial production rebounded in July on strong German factory output. Finnish annual inflation slowed but Swiss producer and import price index fell in August. Dutch trade surplus rose in July.

[R]2:15 PM Frankfurt – Euro area industrial production rebounded in July on strong German factory output. Finnish annual inflation slowed but Swiss producer and import price index fell in August. Dutch trade surplus rose in July.[/R]

Euro-zone Production Rebounds

Industrial production in the euro-zone rebounded in July on strong German factory output, data released by Eurostat showed on Wednesday.

Industrial output increased 1% on a monthly basis in July, reversing a 0.8% fall in June. From a year ago, industrial production in euro-zone increased 4.2% in July, following a 2.6% rise in June.

German industrial production climbed 4.1% in July, following a 0.8% drop in June.

In European Union member states, industrial output grew 1.1% on a monthly basis in July, following a 1. 2% fall in June. In EU27, production rose 3.6% annually in July.

Finnish Annual Inflation Eases

Finland''s consumer price index rose 3.8% on an annual basis in August, following the 4% growth in July, data released by Statistics Finland showed on Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices climbed 0.4% in August, after falling 0.3% in July.

Swedish Inflation Expectations Slows

Swedish inflation expectations eased in September, a survey conducted by TNS SIFO Prospera showed today.

The one-year-ahead inflation is seen at 2.4% compared to 2.7% estimated in June. Likewise, inflation expectations for the coming two years slowed to 2.3% from 2.6%.

Swiss Producer & Import Price Index Drops

Swiss producer and import prices declined more than estimated in August, the Federal Statistics Office said.

From a year ago, the index declined 1.9% and compared to July, the index fell 1.2% in August.

The producer price index for the domestically produced goods dropped 0.8% on a monthly basis, and the import prices fell 2% in August.

Dutch Surplus Rises

Netherlands'' trade surplus increased by €1 billion on an annual basis in July to €4 billion in July, data released by Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

Export of goods, in value terms, grew 7% from a year ago to €33 billion, and imports advanced 5% annually to €29 billion in July.

Russia Holds Rate

Russia''s central bank on Wednesday decided to leave its key rate unchanged. Bank Rossii left its refinancing rate unchanged at 8.25% citing inflation risks and risks to the sustainability of economic growth.

However, the central bank cut the repurchase rate to 5.25% and raised the overnight deposit rate to 3.75%, effective September 15.