Euro Zone Trade Surplus Rises, Inflation Flat at 2.6%

Arthi Gupta
16 Oct, 2012
New York City

New passenger car registrations in Europe fell and annual inflation was flat in September. German sentiment improved in October. Euro zone surplus rose in August.

[R]2:15 PM Frankfurt – New passenger car registrations in Europe fell and annual inflation was flat in September. German sentiment improved in October. Euro zone surplus rose in August.[/R]

European New Car Registrations Fall

New passenger car registrations across Europe fell 10.8% to 1,099,264 units in September from a year ago, data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers'' Association showed today.

For the nine months in the year, registration declined 7.6% to 9,368,327 new cars.

The UK was the only market to record growth while car demand dropped 10.9% in Germany, 17.9% in France, 25.7% in Italy and 36.8% in Spain.

Euro Zone Surplus Rises, Inflation Flat

Euro zone exports grew a seasonally adjusted 3.7% on a monthly basis in August from a 2.2% drop in July, Eurostat reported today. Imports rose 2.1% in August compared to the 0.8% fall in July.

The trade surplus rose to €9.9 billion in August, from €7.2 billion in July. On an unadjusted basis, the trade surplus fell to €6.6 billion in August from €14.7 billion in the prior month.

The extra-EU27 trade in goods showed a deficit of €12.6 billion compared to a surplus of €2.7 billion in July.

Separately, euro zone annual inflation was 2.6% in September, unchanged compared with August, Eurostat said. A year earlier the rate was 3%.

The European Central Bank aims to retain inflation rates below, but close to 2% over the medium term.

Monthly inflation was 0.7% in September.

EU annual inflation was 2.7% in September, unchanged compared with August. A year earlier the rate was 3.3%. Monthly inflation in the EU was 0.6% in September.

Italian Trade Balance Slips to Deficit

Italy''s trade balance swung to a deficit of €598 million in August compared to a surplus of €4.51 billion in July, latest data from the statistics office Istat showed today. A year ago, the balance was in a deficit of €2.9 billion.

Exports rose 3.9% from a month ago on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, following a 0.7% gain in July. On annual basis, exports rose 8.4% in August.

Imports grew 4.4% on a monthly basis in August after a 3.3% climb in July. Imports declined 1.1% compared to the same month a year ago.

German Sentiment Climbs

German economic sentiment rose in October, according to a survey report released today.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment increased to -11.5 in October from -18.2 in September.

The assessment of the current economic situation for Germany has weakened compared to the previous month. The respective indicator dropped to 10 in October from 12.6 in September.

Spanish Leading Index Drops

Spain''s leading economic index fell 0.1% in August after easing 0.5% in July, the Conference Board said today. The leading economic index for Spain has been on a downtrend since February 2011, though its rate of decline has slowed over the past three months.

However, the coincident index rose 0.1% in August, reversing the 0.1% drop in July.