Euro Area Surplus Climbs; Austrian GDP Growth Slows to 0.7%

Arthi Gupta
16 Sep, 2011
New York City

Euro area trade surplus increased but current account deficit widened in July. Europe

[R]1:15 PM Frankfurt – Euro area trade surplus increased but current account deficit widened in July. Europe’s new car registrations rose in August. Hungarian average gross wages improved in July and Italy’s trade surplus eased in July. The Austrian gross domestic product contracted in the second quarter.[/R]

Euro Area Surplus Climbs

The euro area trade surplus increased to €4.3 billion in July from €0.1 billion in June, data from Eurostat showed.

The trade balance showed a deficit of €2.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, unchanged from June.

Exports rose by a seasonally adjusted 2% on a monthly basis and imports gained 1.9% in July.

Euro-zone Deficit Widens, Hourly Labor Costs Up

The euro area current account deficit widened to a seasonally adjusted €12.9 billion in July from €7.1 billion in June, the European Central Bank said today.

The goods account showed a shortfall of €3.5 billion in July compared to a surplus of €0.5 billion in June. However, the surplus in services fell to €3.3 billion in July from €4.6 billion in June.

Separately, hourly labor costs in the euro area rose 3.6% from a year ago in the second quarter compared to the 2.7% increase in the first quarter, Eurostat said.

In the EU27, the annual rise in the labor cost index was 3.4% in the second quarter compared with the 2.3% increase in the first quarter.

Europe Car Registrations Rise

European new car registrations rose 7.7% from a year ago in August following a 2% fall decline in July, the European Automobile Manufacturers'' Association said.

New EU registrations were 753,709 in August.

Hungarian Average Gross Wages Improve

Average gross wages in Hungary rose more than estimated in July, the Hungarian Central Statistics Office said on Friday.

The monthly earnings index rose 6.2% annually in July compared to the 4.7% growth in June. Earnings increased for a fourth consecutive month.

Austria Economy Contracts

The Austrian gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the second quarter, slower than the 1% rise estimated in the preliminary report, revised data from the WIFO research institute showed. This followed a 0.8% expansion in the first quarter.

Annually, GDP rose 3.4% in the second quarter following a 4.2% expansion in the first quarter, downward revision from the second quarter''s initially estimated 3.7% growth.

Italy Surplus Eases

Italy''s trade balance surplus eased to €1.4 billion in July compared to a surplus of €1.6 billion during the same month last year, the statistics office Istat said.

On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted exports grew 1% in July and imports rose 1.6%.