Euro Zone Economic Outlook Flat; Swiss Money Growth Eases

Arthi Gupta
21 Dec, 2011
New York City

The leading economic index in the euro zone was unchanged in November and import price inflation slowed in Germany and Swiss broad money supply growth eased in the month. The Italian economy contracted in the third quarter. Norwegian unemployment held at 3.3% in October.

[R]1:15 PM Frankfurt – The leading economic index in the euro zone was unchanged in November and import price inflation slowed in Germany and Swiss broad money supply growth eased in the month. The Italian economy contracted in the third quarter. Norwegian unemployment held at 3.3% in October.[/R]

Euro-zone Leading Index Flat

Euro-zone''s leading economic index remained unchanged at 106.1 in November, after falling for three months in a row, data released by the Conference Board showed.

Similarly, the coincident economic index, which measures the current situation, held steady at 102.9 for the second consecutive month in November.

Germany Import Price Inflation Slows

Germany''s import price index increased 6% on an annual basis in November, slower than the 6.8% growth recorded in October, data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed today.

On a monthly basis, import prices advanced 0.4% in November, from the 0.3% decline in October.

Italy GDP Contracts

The Italian economy contracted 0.2% on a quarterly basis in the third quarter, following a 0.3% growth in the second quarter, according to data from the statistics office Istat.

On an annual basis, the gross domestic product expanded 0.2% in the third quarter. The second quarter growth rate was revised down to 0.7% from 0.8% reported earlier.

Norwegian Jobless Rate Steady

Norway''s unemployment rate remained unchanged in October, data released by Statistics Norway showed today.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady at 3.3% in October. The number of unemployed persons rose to around 89,000 in October from 87,000 in September.

Sweden Sentiment Drops

Sweden''s headline economic confidence index declined to 92.8 in December from 94.4 in November, revised up from 94, data from a survey by the National Institute of Economic Research showed today.

Swiss M3 Money Supply Growth Eases

Swiss broad money supply growth eased in November, data from the Swiss National Bank showed.

M3, the broad measure of money supply, increased 7.2% from a year ago in November, following a revised 8.1% increase in October.