German Factory Orders Rise, Spanish Output Plunges 10.4%

Arthi Gupta
07 May, 2012
New York City

German factory orders increased 2.2% but Spanish output plunged 10.4% in March. Swiss consumer prices declined for the seventh straight month but jobless rate rose in April. The UK jobless rate forecasted to rise over the next five years.

[R]1:00 PM Frankfurt – German factory orders increased 2.2% but Spanish output plunged 10.4% in March. Swiss consumer prices declined for the seventh straight month but jobless rate rose in April. The UK jobless rate forecasted to rise over the next five years.[/R]

German Factory Orders Climb

German factory orders increased 2.2% in March following the 0.6% rise logged in February, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology said today.

Domestic demand grew 1.3% in March, while foreign orders climbed 3% from February.

From a year ago, overall orders declined by adjusted 1.3% in March after falling 6% in February.

Separately, the German construction sector contracted slightly in April, survey results from Markit Economics showed.

The seasonally adjusted construction Purchasing Managers'' Index fell to 49.8 in April from the 11-month high of 55.7 in March.

Euro-zone Sentix Investor Confidence Slumps

Euro-zone investor sentiment index fell more than expected to -24.5 in May from -14.7 in April, data released by Sentix showed.

The future expectations index plunged to -17.3 in May from -9.3 a month ago. The current assessment was at -31.5 in May compared to -20 in April.

Swiss Consumer Prices Drop, Jobless Rate Up

Switzerland''s consumer prices declined 1% for the seventh consecutive month in April, following a similar decline in March, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office today.

On a monthly basis, prices edged up 0.1% in April, after a 0.6% gain in March.

In a separate report, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Switzerland rose to 3.1% in April from 3% in March, revised down from 3.1%, data from a survey by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed.

There were 123,158 unemployed persons in Switzerland in April, down by 3,234 compared to March. The unemployment rate among youth, aged between 15 and 24, dropped to 3% in April from 3.2% in March.

Spanish Output Plunges

Spain''s industrial output plunged 10.4% from a year ago in March compared to the 3.2% drop logged in February, data from the statistics office INE showed.

Production of capital goods and intermediate goods slumped 11.2% and 10.2%, respectively in March.

Czech Retail Sales Decline

Czech retail sales, including automotive segment, declined 0.3% on an annual basis in March, the Czech Statistics Office said. The decline was driven partly by a lower number of working days.

Sales increased 0.4% from a month ago in March after adjusting to seasonal variations.

UK Jobless Rate to Rise

The UK unemployment will increase over the next five years, the Centre for Economic and Business Research said today.

The jobless total is forecast to increase almost everywhere in the country, with the rate reaching 10.7% by 2016.