German Outlook Cut; Swedish Unemployment Drops to 4.4%

Arthi Gupta
14 Dec, 2011
New York City

Euro area industrial production declined in October and a private survey lowered German growth outlook for this year and 2012. Portuguese inflation eased and Swiss producer and import prices declined in November.

[R]1:40 PM Frankfurt – Euro area industrial production declined in October and a private survey lowered German growth outlook for this year and 2012. Portuguese inflation eased and Swiss producer and import prices declined in November.[/R]

Euro-zone Production Falls

Euro-zone industrial production declined in October, Eurostat said today. Industrial output dropped 0.1% on a monthly basis in October, after falling 2% in September.

On a yearly basis, growth in production slowed to 1.3% in October from 2.2% in September.

Production of capital goods rose 5.3% annually in October, while non-durable consumer goods increased 0.9%.

German Growth Outlook Cut

Germany''s Ifo Institute slashed its forecasts for the economy this year and the next, citing weakening world economy and the European debt crisis.

Ifo now sees 2012 gross domestic product growth at 0.4% compared to 2.3% growth predicted in June. The estimate for this year was lowered to 3% from 3.3%.

Spanish Inflation Eases, Leading Index Decreases

Spain''s annual inflation measured in consumer prices eased to 2.9% as initially estimated in November, from 3% in October, data from the statistics office INE showed.

In another report, Spain''s leading economic indicator fell in October, data released by Conference Board showed.

The leading economic index dropped to 105.2 in October from 105.4 in September, marking the fifth consecutive monthly fall.

Swiss Expectations, Producer & Import Price Index Drops

Economic expectations for Switzerland dropped further in December, the latest survey results from the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Credit Suisse showed on Wednesday.

The ZEW-CS-Indicator dropped 7.7 points from a month earlier to the minus 72 in December.

Separately, Swiss producer and import prices declined in November, the Federal Statistics Office said.

From a year ago, the producer and import price index fell 2.4% in November. Compared to the previous month, the index dropped 0.8% in November.

Portuguese Inflation Eases

Portuguese consumer price index increased 4% from a year ago in November compared to the 4.2% growth recorded in October.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices decreased 0.1% in November, reversing the 1.1% increase in October.

Swedish Jobless Rate Drops

Sweden''s unemployment rate decreased in November, data from the Public Employment Service showed.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.4% in November from 4.6% a year earlier. The number of unemployed persons decreased to 201,852 in November from 207,485 in the same month last year.