German, French Sentiment Wanes; Spanish Mortgage Loans Fall

Arthi Gupta
21 Oct, 2011
New York City

The euro area government deficit to GDP decreased in 2010. German and French sentiment fell in October. Hungarian retail sales rose, consumer spending in the Netherlands fell, and Spain''s mortgages loans decreased 41.7% from a year ago in August.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – The euro area government deficit to GDP decreased in 2010. German and French sentiment fell in October. Hungarian retail sales rose, consumer spending in the Netherlands fell, and Spain''s mortgages loans decreased 41.7% from a year ago in August.[/R]

Euro Area Deficit to GDP Drops

The euro area government deficit to GDP ratio fell to 6.2% in 2010 from 6.4% in 2009, according to Eurostat. The deficit to GDP ratio in the EU27 dropped to 6.6% in 2010 from 6.9% in the prior year.

In the euro area, the government debt to GDP ratio increased to 85.4% at the end of 2010 from 79.8% at the end of 2009. Likewise, debt to GDP in the EU27 grew to 80.2% in 2010 from 74.7% in 2009.

French Economic Indicator Declines

The leading economic indicator for France fell 0.5% to 113.5 in August, led by large negative contributions from stock prices, production expectations and industrial new orders, the Conference Board said on Friday. The index declined 0.3% in July.

The coincident index, a measure of current economic activity, rose 0.1% to 105.7 in August versus the 0.2% increase in July.

German Sentiment Drops

Germany''s business sentiment index dropped for the fourth consecutive month to 106.4 in October from a revised 107.4 in September, according to the Munich-based Ifo Institute. The index for current conditions dipped to 116.7 in October from 117.9 in September.

French Confidence Wanes

French business confidence fell to 97 in October from 99 in September, survey data from the statistics office Insee showed.

The index for demand and total orders remained unchanged at -18, while demand and export order levels fell to -19 from -15.

Dutch Consumer Spending Falls

Consumer spending in the Netherlands fell 1% from a year ago in August. Spending on food, drinks and tobacco dropped 1% but expenditure on services improved 0.3% relative to the same month last year.

Hungarian Retail Sales Up

Hungary''s retail sales volume rose a calendar adjusted 0.4% from a year ago in August, following a 1.3% drop in July, data released by the Central Statistics Office showed.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rose a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.4% in August compared to the 0.3% fall in July.

Spanish Mortgage on Homes Slide

Spain''s home mortgages loans decreased 41.7% from a year ago to €29,231 in August, data released by the National Institute of Statistics showed. The average home price dropped 12.6% to €106,922 in August.

On a monthly basis, housing mortgages fell 1% in August, while the average home price dropped 3.3%.

Swiss M3 Money Supply Grows

Switzerland''s M3 money, the broad measure of money supply, grew 8.2% on an annual basis in September, faster than the 8% growth recorded in August, revised up from 7.6%, data released by the Swiss National Bank showed today.