Euro Zone Wholesale Prices Eases; Spanish Jobless Rate at 22.9%

Arthi Gupta
02 Feb, 2012
New York City

Euro area producer price inflation eased in December. Spanish jobless rate rose in January and Swiss trade surplus soared to record high in 2011. The National Bank of Romania cut interest rate to 5.5%.

[R]2:05 PM Frankfurt – Euro area producer price inflation eased in December. Spanish jobless rate rose in January and Swiss trade surplus soared to record high in 2011. The National Bank of Romania cut interest rate to 5.5%.[/R]

Euro-zone PPI Slows

Euro-zone producer price inflation eased in December, the latest data from Eurostat showed today.

The producer price index for the total industry, excluding construction, rose 4.3% from a year ago in December compared to the 5.4% rise in November.

Prices in intermediate goods industry rose 2.8%, while energy prices climbed 9.5% annually in December.

On a monthly basis, the index declined 0.2% in December.

The average industrial producer price index for 2011 increased 5.9% compared with 2010.

Spanish Jobless Rate Rises

Spain''s unemployment increased 4.01% or 177,470 to 4.6 million in January from December, data released by the Labor Ministry showed today.

Spain has the highest jobless rate of 22.9% in the 17-nation currency bloc.

Norwegian Unemployment Drops

Norway''s unemployment decreased in January, data from the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service showed.

The number of unemployed fell by a seasonally adjusted 3,400 in January. The jobless rate was at 2.8%.

Swiss Surplus Surges

Switzerland’s trade surplus was Sfr 23.8 billion in 2011, 22% higher than 2010, the Federal Customs Administration said.

Chemical industry was the largest contributor to the favorable outcome with a trade balance of Sfr 37 billion.

Separately, the Federation of Swiss Watch Industry FH said that watch exports climbed 21% from a year ago in December, taking the total value of watch exports in 2011 to Sfr 19.3 billion.

Romanian Retail Sales Up

Romania''s retail sales on a seasonally and working-day adjusted basis, grew 3.9% on an annual basis in December, data released by the National Institute of Statistics showed.

In the year 2011, retail sales turnover decreased 2.5% from the previous year, the agency said.

Separately, the monetary policy council of the National Bank of Romania slashed the benchmark interest rate to 5.5% from 5.75%. The bank also decided to maintain the current levels of minimum reserve requirement ratios in domestic and foreign credit institutions.