Euro Zone Industrial Orders Up; Euro Area Private Sector Shrinks

Arthi Gupta
22 Feb, 2012
New York City

Germany sold

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – Germany sold €4.3 billion of two-year notes. Euro area private sector contracted in February and French consumer price index slowed in January. Swedish jobless rate fell in January.[/R]

German Debt Sale

Germany sold €4.282 billion of March 2014 notes against a target of €5 billion, the Bundesbank said. The sale attracted bids totaling €7.818 billion.

The yield on the 2-year debt rose to 0.25% from 0.17% at a previous auction on January 18. The bid-to-cover ratio fell to 1.8 from 2.2.

Euro-zone Private Sector Contracts

Euro-zone private sector contracted in February, a survey by Markit Economics showed today. The composite output index fell to 49.7 in February from 50.4 in January.

The manufacturing purchasing managers'' index rose to 49 in February from 48.8 in January. The services activity index declined to 49.4 in February from 50.4 in January.

French Factory Growth Improves

The flash manufacturing purchasing managers'' index for France rose to a seven-month high of 50.2 in February from 48.5 in January, a survey by Markit Economics showed.

The services activity index fell to 50.3 in February from 52.3 in January.

German Private Sector Activity Eases

Germany''s private sector activity slowed in February, data from Markit Economics showed. The flash composite output index eased to 52.9 in February from 53.9 in January.

The Purchasing Managers'' Index for the manufacturing sector fell unexpectedly to 50.1 in February from 51 a month ago. The services PMI dropped to 52.6 in February from 53.7 in January.

Euro-zone Industrial Orders Rise

Euro-zone''s industrial orders increased a seasonally adjusted 1.9% on a monthly basis in December compared to a 1.1% fall in November, data from statistics office Eurostat showed today.

German Orders Up

New orders in the German construction industry with 20 and more employees climbed 14.1% from a year ago in December, data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed.

Orders of building construction gained 16% annually, while civil engineering construction increased 11.8% in December.

French Inflation Slows

French consumer price index increased 2.3% on an annual basis in January compared to the 2.5% increase in December.

From a month ago, the CPI fell 0.4% in January.

Italy Inflation Increases

Italy''s harmonized index of consumer prices increased an unrevised 3.4% from a year ago in January, following the 3.7% rise in December.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 2.5% annually, while clothing and footwear prices climbed 0.6%.

Swedish Jobless Rate Falls

Sweden''s unemployment rate dropped to 8% in January from 8.2% in the same month last year. The unemployment rate among youth, aged between 15 and 24, decreased to 24.2% in January from 24.6% a year earlier.

The number of unemployed persons decreased 3.3% on an annual basis to 394,000 in January, the agency said.