Euro Area Sentiment Improves; Spanish Economy Shrinks 0.3%

Arthi Gupta
30 Jan, 2012
New York City

German wholesale sales eased and the Spanish economy contracted in the fourth quarter. Euro area economic confidence improved but Italian business confidence declined in January.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – German wholesale sales eased and the Spanish economy contracted in the fourth quarter. Euro area economic confidence improved but Italian business confidence declined in January.[/R]

German Wholesale Sales Slows

Germany''s wholesale sales slowed to 1.6% annually in the fourth quarter compared to the 3% growth recorded in the third quarter, revised up from 2.5%, data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed.

For the year 2011, wholesale sales rose 2.5% from the previous year.

Euro-zone Sentiment Strengthens

Euro-zone economic confidence improved in January, a survey carried out by the European Commission showed today.

The corresponding indicator rose to 93.4 in January from 92.8 in December.

Portuguese Economic Sentiment Falls

Portugal''s economic confidence weakened in January, data released by Statistics Portugal showed today.

The economic confidence index dropped to -4.7 in January from -4.4 in December.

Spanish Economy Contracts

The Spanish economy contracted 0.3% sequentially in the fourth quarter, in line with the quarterly estimates from the Bank of Spain, the latest official data show.

From a year ago, GDP growth eased to 0.3% in the fourth quarter from 0.8% in the third quarter.

For fiscal year 2011, the GDP expanded 0.7% matching the estimates of Bank of Spain.

Dutch PPI Eases

Producer price inflation in the Netherlands edged lower 0.1% on a monthly basis in December, reversing the 0.3% rise in November, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed today.

In the whole of 2011, producer prices surged 9.9% from the previous year, the agency said.

Italian Business Confidence Drops

Italy''s business confidence declined a seasonally adjusted 92.1 in January from 92.5 in December, survey data from the statistics office Istat showed.

The assessment of order books improved to -47 in January from -50 in December and employment expectations to -15 in January from -16 in December.

Danish Manufacturing Outlook Steady

Denmark''s seasonally adjusted manufacturing outlook index, which assesses expectations of industrial firms in the next three months, remained unchanged at 5 in January, data released by Statistics Denmark showed.