German Leading Index Climbs, Italy Estimates Deeper Contraction

Arthi Gupta
21 Sep, 2012
New York City

Italy deepened its estimate of recession this year. Euro zone consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in September. German leading index climbed and Dutch consumer spending declined in July.

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – Italy deepened its estimate of recession this year. Euro zone consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in September. German leading index climbed and Dutch consumer spending declined in July.[/R]

Italy Lowers Economic Outlook

Italy estimated economy to contract 2.4% this year from the 1.2% contraction projected in April. And, the estimate of the budget deficit was revised higher to 2.6% of GDP from 1.7% forecasted in April.

Euro Zone Confidence Drops

Euro zone consumer confidence unexpectedly declined to -25.9 in September, from -24.6 in August, preliminary data from the European Commission showed.

In the wider 27-member European Union, consumer confidence declined to -23.9 in September, from -22.7 in August.

The final data is scheduled to be released on September 27.

German Leading Index Climbs

The leading economic index for Germany climbed 0.1% from the previous month to 102.6 in July, reflecting large positive contributions from stock prices and new residential construction orders, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed.

The coincident economic index, which measures the current economic situation, rose 0.1% sequentially to 107.2 in July.

Dutch Consumer Spending Falls

Household spending on goods and services in the Netherlands decreased a working-day adjusted 1.5% on an annual basis in July, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed.

Spending on food, drinks and tobacco rose 2.9% compared to last year in July, the most substantial increase in four years.

Separately, prices of existing owner-occupied dwellings sold in August in the Netherlands decreased on average 8% from a year earlier, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Land Registry Office showed today.