Euro Zone Inflation at 2.5%, UK Retail Sales Decline

Arthi Gupta
15 Nov, 2012
New York City

The European indexes declined after inflation in the euro area and the UK retail sales fell in October. The French and German economy expanded 0.2% in the third quarter.

[R]12:30 PM Frankfurt – The European indexes declined after inflation in the euro area and the UK retail sales fell in October. The French and German economy expanded 0.2% in the third quarter.[/R]

The European indexes traded lower on U.S. fiscal cliff concerns and the deepening economic crisis in the region.

Inflation in the euro area fell in October but the French and German economy expanded in the third quarter.

In Paris trading, the CAC-40 Index declined 6.07 or 0.2% to 3,393.93 and in Frankfurt the DAX Index edged lower 34.23 or 0.5% to 7,067.34.

The yields on Spain’s benchmark increased one basis point to 5.95%. Italian 10-year yields were at 4.94%.

Euro Zone Inflation Falls

Inflation in the euro area fell in October, final data released by statistics office Eurostat showed today.

Euro area annual inflation fell to 2.5% in October from 2.6% in September. A year earlier the rate was 3%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in October.

In the European Union, inflation eased to 2.6% in October from 2.7% in September. A year earlier the rate was 3.4%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in October.

Separately, euro area1 gross domestic product fell 0.1% in the third quarter from a quarter ago, when it dropped 0.2%, flash estimates published by Eurostat showed today.

Annually, seasonally adjusted GDP fell 0.6% in the euro area.

The EU27 expanded 0.1% sequentially in the third quarter after easing 0.2% in the second quarter. Compared to the previous year, GDP was down 0.4%.

UK Retail Sales Decline

The UK retail sales volume declined 0.8% from a month ago in October offsetting the 0.5% rise in September, the Office for National Statistics reported today.

On a yearly basis, overall retail sales growth eased to 0.6% in October.

French, German Economy Expands

The French economy expanded 0.2% in the third quarter, after a 0.1% decrease over the previous quarter, the latest data from the statistics office Insee showed today.

Separately, the German gross domestic product gained 0.2% sequentially in the third quarter compared to the 0.3% gain in the second quarter, preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office showed today.

Spanish GDP Shrinks

The Spanish gross domestic product shrank 0.3% sequentially in the third quarter, following a 0.4% drop in the second quarter, final data from the statistics office INE showed today.