Euro Zone Current Account in Surplus; German Growth Slows

Arthi Gupta
21 Nov, 2011
New York City

Euro area current account balance swung to a surplus of

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – Euro area current account balance swung to a surplus of €465 million but France''s leading economic index declined in September and Italian non-EU trade deficit narrowed in October. Bulgaria''s unemployment rate rose in the third quarter.[/R]

Euro-zone Current Account Surplus

On a seasonally adjusted basis, euro area current account balance showed a surplus of €465 million in September compared to shortfalls of €2.21 billion last year and €5.9 billion in August, data from the European Central Bank showed today.

German Economic Growth Slows

The German economy is expanding at a markedly slower pace in the final quarter of the year as demand for exports moderate as the global economy slows, the Finance Ministry said in its November Monthly Report on Monday.

The ministry said the largest euro-zone economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter largely on the domestic demand.

French Leading Index Declines

France''s leading economic index declined to 112.8 in September from 113.5 in August, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed on Monday. The coincident economic index, which measures current economic activity, remained unchanged at 105.6 in September, after edging higher 0.1% in August.

Italian Non-EU Trade Deficit Narrows

Italy''s trade deficit with non-EU countries narrowed to €808 million in October, from the €1.65 billion deficit recorded a year earlier, data released by statistics office Istat showed.

Export of goods to the non-EU countries increased 8.4% on an annual basis to €14.40 billion and the value of imports rose 1.9% from a year ago to €15.21 billion in October.

Bulgarian Jobless Rate Climbs

Bulgaria''s unemployment rate increased to 10.2% in the third quarter from 9.5% in the corresponding period last year. The number of jobless persons climbed to 343,000 in the third quarter from 326,600 in the corresponding quarter last year.

Unemployment among youth, aged between 15 and 24, moved up to 23.3% from 21.4% last year.

Dutch Consumer Spending Drops

Consumer spending in the Netherlands declined 2% annually in September, after falling 1% in August, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed.

Consumer spending on food and beverages dropped 0.3%, while spending on durable goods fell 8.5% annually in September.

Swiss M3 Money Supply Growth Surges

Switzerland''s broad measure of money supply, or M3, increased 8.2% on an annual basis in October, following a 7.9% growth in September, revised down from 8.2%.