OECD Area Inflation Stable at 2.8%; Euro Zone PPI Eases

Arthi Gupta
03 Apr, 2012
New York City

OECD area inflation remained stable but euro area industrial producer prices rose in February. Spanish unemployment climbed in March.

[R]3:45 PM Frankfurt – OECD area inflation remained stable but euro area industrial producer prices rose in February. Spanish unemployment climbed in March.[/R]

OECD Area Inflation Stable

The consumer price index in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development area rose 2.8% on an annual basis in February matching the growth rate in January, latest data showed.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the OECD area climbed 0.4% in February following the 0.2% fall in January.

Euro-zone PPI Eases

On a monthly basis, the industrial producer price index eased 0.6% in February following a 0.8% gain in January. And in the EU27, the industrial producer price index rose 0.8% in February compared to the 0.6% gain in January.

In the month compared to a year ago, industrial producer prices gained 3.6% in the euro area and 4.3% in the EU27.

Spanish Jobless Rate Climbs

The number of unemployed in Spain rose 0.82% or 38,769 to 4.75 million in March from February, data from the Labor Ministry showed today. In February, unemployment rose by 112,269.

On an annual basis, unemployment was 9.6% higher in March.

Spain''s jobless rate was the highest in the European Union in February at 23.6%, according to data from Eurostat released yesterday.

Hungarian Surplus Eases

Hungary''s trade surplus was €419 million in January compared to the estimate of €423.5 million in the preliminary report, data from the Hungarian Central Statistics Office showed.

Romanian Retail Sales Up

Romania''s retail sales turnover excluding sales of automobiles increased a seasonally and working-day adjusted 3.0% annually in February.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose 7.2% annually in February.

From a month ago, retail sales decreased a seasonally and working-day adjusted 2.5% in February.