German Trade Surplus Rises, French Deficit Narrows

Arthi Gupta
09 May, 2012
New York City

German manufacturing turnover eased but foreign trade surplus increased to

[R]1:00 PM Frankfurt – German manufacturing turnover eased but foreign trade surplus increased to €17.4 billion in March and French deficit narrowed. Swedish home prices fell in three months to April and Greek inflation inched higher in the month.[/R]

German Factory Sales Growth Eases

Germany''s manufacturing turnover increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% on a monthly basis in March from the 1.2% growth in February, data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed.

Sales in the domestic market increased 0.4% from a month ago, while sales in the overseas market edged down 0.1% in March.

On an annual basis, factory turnover increased a working-day adjusted 0.7% in March, following the 1.6% rise in February.

German Exports Rise

Germany''s exports rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in March after increasing 1.5% in February, data from Destatis showed. Imports climbed 1.2% from a month ago in March slower than the 3.6% increase in February.

The foreign trade surplus increased to €17.4 billion in March from €14.9 billion in February.

The current account surplus was €19.8 billion in March compared to the €11.7 billion surplus in February.

French Deficit Narrows

France''s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to €5.721 billion in March from €6.279 billion in February, data released by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise showed today. In March 2011, the trade balance was a deficit of €6.190 billion.

Exports decreased to €36.491 billion in March from €37.049 billion in the previous month. A year earlier, the value of shipments was €35.136 billion.

Imports dropped to €42.212 billion in March from €43.328 billion in February. In March 2011, France imported merchandise worth €41.326 billion, the agency said.

Hungarian Trade Surplus

Hungary''s trade balance was in a surplus of €608.2 million in March, preliminary data from the Hungarian Central Statistics Office showed. Exports decreased 3.6% from a year ago in March while imports remained broadly unchanged compared to the same month of the previous year.

Swedish Home Prices Decline

Average home prices in Sweden fell 1% during the February to April period compared to the three months ended January, Statistics Sweden said.

The average price for a one or two-dwelling building in Sweden was just over SEK 2 million during the period.

Greek Inflation Climbs

Greece''s harmonized index of consumer prices increased 1.5% from a year ago in April, after rising 1.4% in March, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 1.6% annually, while clothing and footwear prices advanced 2.1% in April.

From a month ago, the HICP eased to 0.8% in April from the 2.9% growth in March.