German Economy Shrinks 0.2%; French Confidence Improves

Arthi Gupta
24 Feb, 2012
New York City

The German economy contracted in the fourth quarter. Eurocoin indicator rose and French consumer confidence improved in February. Spanish producer price inflation eased in January.

[R]1:30 PM Frankfurt – The German economy contracted in the fourth quarter. Eurocoin indicator rose and French consumer confidence improved in February. Spanish producer price inflation eased in January.[/R]

Eurocoin Indicator Improves

The monthly euro-coin indicator rose to -0.06 in February from -0.14 in January, data released by Bank of Italy and the Centre for Economic Policy Research showed.

German Economy Shrinks

The German economy contracted 0.2% on a quarterly basis in the fourth quarter following a 0.6% expansion in the third quarter, an updated estimate from the Federal Statistics Office confirmed today.

The drop in Germany's GDP in the fourth quarter of 2011 was due mainly to a shortfall in foreign trade, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The report also confirmed the GDP expanded 1.5% from a year ago in the fourth quarter, slower than the 2.6% rise in the third quarter.

For the whole of 2011, the economy expanded 3% compared to the 3.7% growth in 2010.

Separately, the German government's deficit ratio declined to -1% of gross domestic product in 2011 compared to -4.3% in the previous year, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed.

The central government accounted for a deficit of €26.3 billion and the state government of €14.9 billion.

French Confidence Strengthens

French consumer confidence gained in February, the latest survey from the statistics office Insee showed. The corresponding indicator rose to 82 in February from 81 in January.

The index measuring general economic situation in France dropped to -75 in February from -73 in January, while that for coming period improved to -53 in February from -57 in January.

Spanish PPI Eases

Spanish producer price inflation eased to 3.6% in January from 5.2% in December, according to a report by the statistics office INE released today.

On a monthly comparison, producer prices climbed 0.8% in January, reversing a 0.1% in December.

Hungarian Retail Sales Up

Hungary's retail sales increased a calendar adjusted 1.5% in December, following a 1.1% rise in November. The latest growth was the biggest since July 2010, when sales grew 2.4%.

From a month ago, retail sales volume edged higher a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, after rising 0.2% in November.

Italian Retail Sales Drop

Retail sales in Italy fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in December, data from the statistics office Istat showed.

Sales of food products declined 1% from a month ago, while there was a 1.2% drop in sales of non-food goods in December.