Eurozone Inflation Acceleration Slows, Auto Registrations Rise, Swiss Trade Surplus Up

Bridgette Randall
17 Nov, 2022
Frankfurt

European markets closed mixed after geopolitical tensions eased and focus shifted to rising coronavirus infections in China. 

European bond yields were in focus after the U.S. Fed officials carried out another round of campaign to cool down market expectations. 

Investors also reviewed the latest data on inflation in the eurozone and new card registrations. 

The yield on 10-year German Bunds inched slightly higher to 2.02%, French bonds edged higher to 2.50%, the UK Gilt traded unchanged at 3.2% and Italian bonds held at 3.19%.

The DAX index increased 0.2% to 14,266.38, the CAC-40 index declined 0.5% to 6,576.12 and the FTSE 100 index fell 4.65 points to 7,346.54. 

The euro edged up to $1.03 and the British pound inched lower to $1.183. 

 

Eurozone Inflation Accelerate Rate Revised Lower 

Eurozone consumer price inflation accelerated less than expected in October, Eurostat reported Thursday. 

The annual rate of inflation in October was lowered to 10.6% from the previous estimate of 10.7% and the inflation rose from 9.9% in September. 

Core rate of inflation, which excludes food, energy, tobacco and alcohol, increased to 5.0% from 4.8% in September. 

 

October Vehicle Registration Rises, 3rd Monthly Increase

New automobile registrations in October rose for the third month in a row, the Brussels-based ACEA reported Thursday. 

Passenger vehicle registrations rose 12.2% in October to 745,855 from 664,861 a year ago. Registration increased 9.6% in September from the previous month. 

Despite the monthly increase, registrations are down by 290,000 from the pre-pandemic 2019 levels. 

January to October registrations declined 8.1% to 7.53 million from a year ago. 

 

Swiss Exports Decline Accelerates 

Swiss exports declined for the second month in a row in October, the Federal Customs Administration reported Thursday. 

Exports declined 1.1% from a year ago to 22.94 billion Swiss francs and imports dropped 1.4% to 19.97 billion Swiss francs from a year ago.  

Exports declined 1.8% in real terms after adjusting for inflation, following a 0.4% fall in September. 

Trade surplus rose to 2.98 billion Swiss francs from 2.93 billion Swiss francs in the previous month. 

Watch exports growth moderated but still remained high at 6.7% from a year ago and increased to 2.3 billion Swiss francs. 

 

Oil Drops 3% 

Crude oil traded lower after rising coronavirus infections in China, the largest importer of oil, dashed aside any hopes of relaxing stricter mobility restrictions. 

Supply resumed after a brief power outage through a Russian pipeline to Hungary but traders were cautious as the European Union's ban for Russian crude oil is scheduled to start in December and OPEC is expected to keep supply in check. 

Brent crude fell 3.2% to $89.93 a barrel and TTF natural gas prices fell 1.1% to 112.54 euros a MWh. 

 

Europe Stock Movers 

Siemens AG soared 7.6% to