Germany Lowers 2012 Outlook; Swiss Surplus Rises

Arthi Gupta
20 Oct, 2011
New York City

The German government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2012 and lifted the outlook for the current year. Germany''s producer price index and Dutch jobless rate increased in September. Danish consumer sentiment but Swiss economic sentiment improved in October.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – The German government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2012 and lifted the outlook for the current year. Germany''s producer price index and Dutch jobless rate increased in September. Danish consumer sentiment but Swiss economic sentiment improved in October.[/R]

Germany Lowers Forecast

The German government sharply lowered its growth forecast for the next year, citing the impact of the economic crisis in euro-zone.

The growth projection for 2012 was cut to 1% from 1.8% seen in April. The current year estimate was lifted to 2.9% from 2.6%.

The government estimated inflation in the current year at 2.3% and 1.8% in the next year.

Unemployment is expected to remain below three million people in the current year and the jobless rate is expected to hover at 7% in the current year and 6.7% in 2012.

German PPI Flat

Germany''s producer price index increased 5.5% from a year ago in September, unchanged from the rate of growth recorded in August, data released by statistics office Destatis showed.

Annual non-durable consumer goods prices increased 3.9%, and a 1.2% rise in prices of capital goods, the agency said.

Producer prices rose 0.3% on a monthly basis in September compared to the 0.3% decline in August.

Portuguese PPI Stable

Portugal''s producer price index rose 5.5% annually in September, unchanged from the growth seen in August.

Consumer goods prices rose 2.9% annually, while prices of intermediate goods edged higher 4.1% in September.

On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 0.2% in September, after recording a flat reading in the previous month.

Swiss Surplus Up

Switzerland''s trade surplus increased to Sfr1.85 billion in September compared to Sfr808 million in August, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed on Thursday.

Exports rose 9.5% from a year ago in September in real terms, while imports increased 1.5%.

Danish Sentiment Deteriorates

Consumer confidence in Denmark deteriorated in October, data released by Statistics Denmark showed.

The consumer confidence index dropped to -6.6 in October from -3.6 in September and declined for the fourth month in a row.

Dutch Jobless Rate Rises, Confidence Dampens

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the Netherlands increased for a third consecutive month in September to 5.6% from 5.4% in August, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

The number of jobless persons rose to 427,000 in September from 392,000 in August. This was 31,000 higher than a year earlier.

Separately, the statistics office said the consumer confidence index declined by 3 points to minus 33 in October.

The measure of households'' confidence in the economic climate dropped by 5 points to -58 and index for consumers willingness to make new purchases fell by 3 points to -17 in October.

Swiss Sentiment Improves

Economic confidence in Switzerland improved in October, according to a survey by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research and Credit Suisse showed.

The economic confidence index rose to minus 54.4 in October from minus 75.7 in September, following four consecutive monthly decreases.