Euro Area Private Sector Contracts, French Confidence Falls

Arthi Gupta
24 Jul, 2012
New York City

The euro-zone private sector economy contracted and French business confidence fell in July. Hungarian retail sales declined in May. Spanish producer price inflation eased in June.

[R]1:30 PM Frankfurt – The euro-zone private sector economy contracted and French business confidence fell in July. Hungarian retail sales declined in May. Spanish producer price inflation eased in June.[/R]

Euro-zone Confidence Falls, Private Sector Shrinks

Euro zone consumer confidence deteriorated in July, the latest data from the European Commission showed.

The flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator slumped to -21.6 in July from -19.8 in June in the euro area.

In the EU, the indicator fell to -20.3 in July from -19.7 in June.

The detailed result of the consumer survey, along with business survey is scheduled to be released on July 30.

In another report, the euro zone private sector economy contracted for the tenth time in the past 11 months, with the rate of decline unchanged on June, Markit Economics said today.

The flash composite Purchasing Managers'' Index remained unchanged at 46.4 in July.

The manufacturing PMI fell to 44.1 in July from 45.1 in June and the services PMI rose to 47.6 in July from 47.1.

German Private Sector Shrinks

German private sector saw fastest fall in output and new business in July since June 2009, according to Markit Economics.

The flash composite output index fell to a 37-month low of 47.3 in July from 48.1 in June.

The flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index dropped unexpectedly to 43.3 in July from 45.0 in June and the services PMI fell to 49.7 in June from 49.9 in June.

Separately, Germany''s leading economic index dropped 0.1% to 104.3 in May, after decreasing 0.5% in April.

The coincident economic index rose 0.1% from a month ago to 107.2 in May following a 0.2% fall in April.

French Sentiment, PMI Drop

French business confidence fell in July, the latest data from the statistics office Insee showed today.

The headline synthetic index for the manufacturing sector fell to 90 in July from a revised 91 in June.

Separately, the French private sector output eased more in July.

The purchasing managers'' index for the manufacturing sector fell to a 38-month low of 43.6 in July from 45.2 in June, flash survey results from Markit Economics showed

The manufacturing output index dropped to a 39-month low of 43.3 in July from 46 in June. The services activity index climbed to a six-month high of 50.2 in July from 47.9 in June.

The composite output index, that measures performance of both manufacturing and services, rose to a four-month high of 48 in July from 47.3 in June.

Hungarian Retail Sales Fall

Hungary''s retail sales volume fell a calendar-adjusted 2.5% annually in May, following a 2.8% decline in April, data released by the Central Statistics Office showed.

From a month ago, retail sales declined a calendar-seasonally adjusted 0.1% in May, after falling 1% in April.

Spanish PPI Slows

Spain''s producer price inflation eased to 2.5% annually in June from 3.2% in May, the statistics office INE said.

On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.5% in June after easing 0.2% in May.

Italian Non-EU Trade Surplus

Italy''s trade balance with countries outside the European Union showed a surplus of €1.52 billion in June compared with a deficit of €1.389 billion in the same month of 2011, a report from statistics office Istat showed.