German Exports Rebound, Swiss Jobless Rate at 2.9%

Arthi Gupta
09 Jul, 2012
New York City

Investor sentiment in the euro area fell in July and German exports rose more than anticipated in May. French business confidence waned and Swiss jobless rate was stable in June. The Czech Republic deficit rose but output fell in May.

[R]1:30 PM Frankfurt – Investor sentiment in the euro area fell in July and German exports rose more than anticipated in May. French business confidence waned and Swiss jobless rate was stable in June. The Czech Republic deficit rose but output fell in May.[/R]

Euro-zone Confidence Declines

Investor sentiment in the euro-zone fell in July, data released by Sentix showed today.

The sentiment index fell to -29.6 in July from -28.9 in June, the lowest since July 2009.

German Exports Up

Germany''s exports rose more than expected in May, the latest data from the Federal Statistics Office showed today.

Exports increased 3.9% on a monthly basis in May following a 1.7% drop in April.

Imports surged 6.3% on a monthly basis in May following a 4.9% slump in April.

The trade surplus rose to €15.3 billion in May from a revised €14.5 billion surplus in April. The current account balance surplus was €9 billion in May compared to €11 billion in April.

French Confidence Wanes

The business confidence index for the French industrial sector declined to 91 in June, the lowest since August 2009, from 92 in May, data released by Bank of France showed.

The outlook component of the index showed that the gross domestic product is likely to fall by 0.1% in the second quarter.

Swiss Jobless Rate Stable

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Switzerland remained stable at 2.9% in June, data released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed. The data for May was revised down from 3%.

There were 114,868 people registered as unemployed in June, 3,992 less than the previous month. Compared to June 2011, the number of unemployed increased 4.1%.

Czech Surplus Rises, Output Drops

Merchandise trade surplus in the Czech Republic increased by CZK9.6 billion from last year to CZK23.1 billion in May, preliminary data released by the Czech Statistics Office showed.

In another report, industrial production in the Czech Republic at constant prices decreased 2.4% on an annual basis in May following the 2.2% gain in April.

Hungarian Surplus Improves

Hungary''s trade surplus advanced to €701.1 million in May from €698.2 million in the same month a year earlier.

Exports increased 1.7% on an annual basis to €6.995 billion and imports climbed 1.8% annually to €6.293 billion in May.

Greek Inflation Eases

Greece''s annual consumer price inflation eased to 1.3% in June from 1.4% in May, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed. The latest reading was the lowest since October 2009.