Greek Import Price Inflation Rises, Czech Deficit Widens

Arthi Gupta
15 Oct, 2012
New York City

Greek import price inflation rose and Czech current account deficit widened in August. Swiss producer and import price climbed in September.

[R]2:15 PM Frankfurt – Greek import price inflation rose and Czech current account deficit widened in August. Swiss producer and import price climbed in September.[/R]

Greek Import Price Inflation Rises

Greece''s import price inflation rose in August, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed on Friday.

The headline import price index gained 6.9% annually in August, following a 3.4% rise in July. The latest figure is the strongest since February.

Prices in intermediate goods industry rose 1.1%, while those in durables consumer goods sector rose 0.7% in August.

From a month ago, the import prices climbed 1.6% in August, after rising 2.2% in July.

Swiss Producer and Import Prices Climbs

Switzerland''s producer and import price rose 0.3% annually in September compared to the 0.1% drop in August, the Federal Statistics Office said.

On a monthly basis, the producer and import price index gained 0.3% in September following a 0.5% growth in August.

Czech Deficit Widens

Czech current account deficit widened to CZK 26.6 billion in August, owing to a deficit on the income balance, from a deficit of CZK 11.5 billion in July, data released by the Czech National Bank showed.

The goods and services balance and the current transfers balance were in surplus. The amount of dividends paid on direct investment was CZK 21.3 billion in August.

Separately, Czech industrial producer prices rose 1.7% annually in September, following a 1.9% gain in August, the Czech Statistics Office said.

On a monthly basis, prices of industrial producers remained unchanged in September.

Norway Surplus Narrows

Norway''s trade surplus narrowed to NOK 23.57 billion in September from NOK 31.06 billion a year ago, Statistics Norway reported today.

Exports fell 10.9% annually to NOK 65.4 billion and imports dropped 1.2% to NOK 41.8 billion in September.

Excluding oil, natural gas and condensates, the trade deficit widened to NOK 11.05 billion in September from NOK 9.95 billion last year.