German PPI Eases, Italian Deficit Narrows

Arthi Gupta
20 Jun, 2012
New York City

German producer price inflation slowed more than estimated in May. Economic confidence in Sweden and Danish consumer confidence fell in June. Italian current account deficit narrowed in April.

[R]1:30 PM Frankfurt – German producer price inflation slowed more than estimated in May. Economic confidence in Sweden and Danish consumer confidence fell in June. Italian current account deficit narrowed in April.[/R]

German PPI Eases, Leading Index Falls

Germany''s producer price inflation slowed more than anticipated to 2.1% in May from 2.4% in April, Destatis said today. On a monthly basis, overall producer prices fell 0.3% in May compared to the 0.2% rise in April.

Separately, Germany''s leading index dropped 0.1% in April, reversing the 0.2% rise in March, the Conference Board said today.

The coincident index, a measure of current economic activity, slipped 0.3% in April following a 0.5% rise in March.

Swedish Sentiment Drops

Economic confidence in Sweden fell in June, data released by the National Institute of Economic Research showed today.

The economic confidence index dropped to 98.7 in June from 100.4 in May, revised down from 100.9, driven by negative contributions from the manufacturing and construction industry.

Danish Confidence Declines

Denmark''s consumer confidence indicator fell to -2.6 in June from -0.4 in May, data released by the statistics office showed. The latest score was the weakest since February.

The current conditions index fell to -9.8 in June from -6.2 in May. The future expectations index dropped to 4.7 in June from 8.4 in May.

Dutch Consumer Sentiment Falls

Consumer confidence in the Netherlands declined in June, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed.

The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index dropped to a record low of-40 in June from -38 in May. The measure of households'' willingness to make new purchases remained unchanged at -23 in June, data showed.

Italian Current Account Deficit Narrows

Italy''s current account deficit narrowed to €1.138 billion in April from €4.849 billion in the month a year ago on increased exports according to data released by Bank of Italy today.

The services account showed a deficit of €316 million in April, lower than the €373 million shortfall in April 2011.