O.E.C.D. Inflation Eases; Spanish Retail Sales Fall

Arthi Gupta
29 Nov, 2011
New York City

O.E.C.D. area annual inflation eased, French jobless claims increased to record 4.9%, and retail sales in Spain decreased in October. Euro area economic sentiment declined and Belgian inflation rose in November.

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – O.E.C.D. area annual inflation eased, French jobless claims increased to record 4.9%, and retail sales in Spain decreased in October. Euro area economic sentiment declined and Belgian inflation rose in November.[/R]

OECD Annual Inflation Eases

Consumer price inflation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development area eased in October, reflecting slower growth in food and energy prices, latest data showed on Tuesday.

Annual inflation slowed to 3.2% in October from 3.3% in September.

Belgian Inflation Rises

Belgium''s consumer price index increased 3.85% annually in November as against the 3.57% growth recorded in October, data released by the statistics office showed.

Energy prices climbed 17.6% annually in November, contributing significantly to the annual growth in prices.

Euro-zone Sentiment Declines

Euro-zone economic sentiment declined further in November, a monthly survey conducted by the European Commission showed.

The economic sentiment fell to 93.7 in November from 94.8 in October.

Portuguese Economic Confidence Drops

Portugal''s economic sentiment dropped in November, Statistics Portugal said today.

The economic climate indicator fell to -3.5 in November from -2.9 in October. The latest reading was the lowest value of the series.

French Jobless Rate Surges

French jobless claims increased to the highest level since January 2000, data from the Labor Ministry said on Monday.

The number of job seekers increased 1.2% or 34,400 in October from a month ago to 2.815 million. From the same period a year ago, unemployment rose 4.9%.

Swiss UBS Consumption Indicator Up

Switzerland''s consumption indicator improved in October, underpinned by higher vehicle sales, data released by UBS Bank showed.

The UBS consumption indicator rose 0.09 points to 0.91 in October.

Greek Output Slows

Greece''s producer price inflation slowed in October, after increasing in the previous month, data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed Tuesday.

The producer price index advanced 8.1 percent on an annual basis in October, slower than the 8.3 percent growth recorded in September.

Output prices of goods sold in the domestic market grew 7.9% from a year ago and prices of goods for the overseas market advanced 8.7% in October.

On a monthly basis, producer prices were flat in October, while in September they rose 0.8%.

Swedish GDP Expands

Sweden''s seasonally adjusted gross domestic product rose 1.6% in the third quarter, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Tuesday.

The second quarter growth rate was revised up to 1% from 0.9% reported earlier.

Spanish Retail Sales Fall, Inflation Slows

Retail sales in Spain decreased in October, data released by statistics office Ine showed.

Retail sales, at constant prices, decreased 6.9% annually in October, faster than the 5.4% fall in September. Monthly sales have been declining since July 2010 after rising 1% in the month.

Sales of food products dropped 2.7%, while sales of non-food products fell 9.6% in October.

Separately, Spanish EU harmonized inflation slowed in November, flash estimates from the statistics office INE showed.

The annual growth in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices eased slightly to 2.9% in November from 3.0% in October. The statistics office is set to publish final data on December 14.