ECB Holds Rates; Greek Jobless Rate at 18.2%

Arthi Gupta
12 Jan, 2012
New York City

The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged and OECD leading index eased and euro area output declined in November. German inflation eased in December and Greek jobless rate rose more than anticipated in October.

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged and OECD leading index eased and euro area output declined in November. German inflation eased in December and Greek jobless rate rose more than anticipated in October.[/R]

European Central Bank Holds Rate

The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged on Thursday.

The Governing Council led by ECB President Mario Draghi decided to maintain the main refi rate at 1%.

The rate on the marginal lending facility was held at 1.75%, while the deposit facility rate was kept at 0.25%.

OECD Leading Index Eases

A leading economic indicator for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development declined further in November, latest data showed today.

The composite leading index dropped to 100.1 in November from 100.2 in October.

The sub-indicator for the euro area dropped 0.4% from a month ago to 98.3 in November, while on annual basis it fell 5.6%.

Euro-zone Output Drops

Industrial production in the euro area decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.1% on a monthly basis in November, slower than the upwardly revised 0.3% decline in October, data released by statistics office Eurostat showed today.

In EU27, production dropped 0.1% on a monthly basis in November, after falling a revised 0.3% in October.

From a year ago, industrial output decreased 0.3% in November, reversing the 1% increase in October. In EU27, output edged down 0.2% annually in November, after rising 1% in October.

Germany Inflation Eases

Germany''s consumer price inflation slowed to an unrevised 2.1% in December from 2.4% in November. From a month ago, consumer prices rose an unrevised 0.7% in December, after remaining flat in November.

French Inflation Rises 2.5%, Deficit Contracts

France''s consumer prices increased more than estimated in December, data released by statistics office Insee showed.

The consumer price index increased 2.5% on an annual basis in December.

Prices of energy products rose 9.3% annually in December, slower than the 11.5% increase in November.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices advanced 0.4% in December, following the 0.3% gain in November.

Separately, French current account deficit fell to €2.3 billion in November from €4.2 billion in December, driven by the improvement of the balance of goods, the central bank said.

Italian Output Falls

Italy''s industrial production declined a working-day adjusted 4.1% on an annual basis in November, data released by statistics office Istat showed.

Production in the manufacturing industry dropped 4.4% annually, while mining and quarrying production surged 12.4% in November.

On a monthly basis, industrial output edged higher a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November, from the 0.9% decrease in October.

Greek Jobless Rate Rises

Greece''s unemployment rate increased to 18.2% in October from 17.5% in September, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority today. In October 2010, the unemployment rate was 13.5%.

Unemployment among youth, aged between 15 and 24, was 45.5% in October.

The number of unemployed persons increased 5.3% from a month ago to 903,525 in October. Annually, the number of jobless climbed 32.1%.

Greek Import Price Inflation Slows

Greece''s import price index increased 8.5% on an annual basis in November, slower than the 8.6% growth in October, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed.

On a monthly basis, import prices rose 1% in November, after rising 0.2% in October.

Dutch Retail Sales Climb

Retail sales in the Netherlands climbed 1.3% on an annual basis in November, from the 1.6% fall in October, revised down from 1.7%.

Retail sales of food and beverages rose 2.5% annually, while sales of non-food articles decreased 0.8% in November.