French Deficit Narrows; German Production Rebounds

Arthi Gupta
07 Dec, 2011
New York City

French trade deficit declined and German industrial production rebounded in October. Swiss jobless rate remained unchanged in November. Norway''s current account surplus rose in the third quarter.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – French trade deficit declined and German industrial production rebounded in October. Swiss jobless rate remained unchanged in November. Norway''s current account surplus rose in the third quarter.[/R]

French Deficit Narrows

The French trade deficit declined in October due to an increase in exports, the customs office reported today.

The trade deficit narrowed to €6.25 billion in October, from a revised €6.57 billion shortfall logged in September.

German Industrial Production Rebounds

German industrial production rebounded in October, data from the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology showed.

Industrial production grew 0.8% on a monthly basis in October after falling 2.8% in September.

Italian Output Drops

Italy''s industrial production volume, excluding construction, decreased a calendar-adjusted 4.2% on an annual basis in October.

On a monthly basis, industrial output declined 0.9% in October.

Bulgarian Industrial Output Increases

Bulgaria''s industrial production increased in October, data released by the National Statistical Institute showed on Wednesday.

Industrial production increased a working-day adjusted 2.4% on an annual basis in October compared to the 1.4% growth in September.

Hungary''s Industrial Output Stabilizes

Industrial production growth in Hungary remained stable in October, preliminary data from the Hungarian Central Statistics Office showed.

Production grew 3% from a year ago on a working day adjusted basis in October, at the same pace as in the previous month.

Iceland''s Central Bank Holds Rate

Iceland''s central bank on Wednesday decided to leave the benchmark 7-day collateralized lending rate unchanged at 4.75%.

The overnight lending rate was at 5.75% and the maximum rate on 28-day certificates of deposit was retained at 4.5%. The interest rate on current account was 3.75%.

Swiss Jobless Rate Flat

Switzerland''s unemployment rate remained unchanged in November, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs stated. The jobless rate came in at seasonally adjusted 3% in November.

The number of registered unemployed increased 5,931 persons or 5.1% from a month ago to 121,109 in November. The number of registered job seekers fell 2.9% in November from the prior month.

Sweden Central Government Payments Budget Surplus

Sweden''s central government payments resulted in a surplus of SEK 5.5 billion in November, the Debt Office said today.

For the twelve-month period up to the end of November, central government payments resulted in a surplus of SEK 61 billion.

Norwegian Current Account Surplus Rises

Norway''s current account surplus increased to NOK 118 billion in the third quarter from NOK 100 billion in the second quarter, data released by Statistics Norway showed.

The surplus in the goods and services trade account rose to NOK 97 billion in the third quarter from NOK 85 billion in the second quarter, while the income and current transfers surplus increased to NOK 20 billion in the third quarter from NOK 15 billion in the second quarter.

German Business Insolvencies Decline

Business insolvencies in Germany decreased 6.7% in the period between January and September compared to a year ago period, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The German insolvency courts reported 22,854 business insolvencies during January to September.