Euro Zone Confidence Improves, Spanish Unemployment Rises

Arthi Gupta
05 Nov, 2012
New York City

Euro zone confidence improved in November. Spanish unemployment rose more than estimated and Hungarian manufacturing activity worsened in October.

[R]1:30 PM Frankfurt – Euro zone confidence improved in November. Spanish unemployment rose more than estimated and Hungarian manufacturing activity worsened in October.[/R]

Euro Area Confidence Rises

Euro zone confidence improved in November for the third month in a row, data released by the think-tank Sentix showed today.

The composite index for the euro zone rose to -18.8 in November from -22.2 in October.

Both the sentiment for the economic situation and the expectations for the next six months improved in the survey of 887 investors.

Hungarian Manufacturing Slumps

Hungary’s manufacturing activity worsened in October, data from a survey by the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management showed.

The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers'' index for the manufacturing sector dropped to 49.9 in October from 52.5 in September.

The new orders sub-index plunged to 48.3 points in October, from 56.4 in September.

Spanish Unemployment Climbs

Spanish unemployment rose for a third straight month in October, official data showed.

The number of unemployed persons in Spain in October rose 2.73% or by 128,242 people on a monthly basis to 4.83 million in October. The unemployment rate increased 10.84% from a year ago.

Spanish unemployment rate hit a new record of 25.02% in the third quarter, according to a report released by the Spanish statistics office INE last month.

Romanian Retail Sales Fall

Romania''s retail sales turnover, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% from a month ago in September, data released by the National Institute of Statistics showed today.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco fell 0.1% sequentially in September.

Swedish Service Sector Up

Sweden''s service sector activity improved in October, data released by the Swedbank showed today.

The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers'' index for the service sector moved up to 50.3 in October from 47.2 in September, driven mainly by a modest rebound in new orders.