Germany's Jobless Rate Held Steady for the 6th Consecutive Month, UK's Retail Sales Growth Slowed In May

Bridgette Randall
04 Jun, 2024
Frankfurt

European markets gave up gains from the previous session as investors awaited monetary policy decisions on Thursday. 

Benchmark indexes in Paris, London, and Frankfurt declined between 0.5% and 1.2% in choppy trading, and bond yields in the region edged lower. 

 

Germany's Jobless Rate Held Steady at 5.9% In May 

Germany's seasonally adjusted jobless rate held steady at 5.9% for the sixth consecutive session in a row in May, the labor ministry reported Tuesday. 

The jobless rate rose to the highest level for the first time since June 2021. 

The number of unemployed persons increased by 25,000 to 2.76 million, marking the 17th month of rising unemployment in a row. 

 

U.K. Retail Sales Struggled to Advance in May 

The UK's retail sales rose at a slower annual pace in May, according to the latest report released by the British Retail Consortium. 

Total retail sales increased by 0.7% in May, slower than the 3.9% increase in the corresponding month a year ago. 

The increase in retail sales was above the 3-month average growth of 0.3% and below the 12-month average growth of 2.0%.

Food sales increased 3.6%, and non-food sales decreased 2.4% over the three months to May.

"Despite a strong bank holiday weekend for retailers, minimal improvement in weather across most of May meant only a modest rebound in retail sales last month," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index decreased by 1.2% to 18,389.41; the CAC-40 index fell by 0.9% to 7,925.94; and the FTSE 100 index declined by 0.5% to 8,223.02. 

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged lower to 2.55%; French bonds inched lower to 3.04%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.20%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 3.88%.

The euro edged higher to $1.086; the British pound inched higher to $1.275; and the U.S. dollar weakened to 89.35 Swiss cents. 

Brent crude decreased $1.35 to $77.01 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas declined by €1.06 to €35.09 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

A.P. Moeller Maersk decreased a fraction to DKK11,730, despite the company raising its annual profit outlook. 

British American Tobacco declined 1.2% to 2,405.0 pence after the cigarette maker said its first-half revenue and adjusted operating profit, on an organic and constant currency basis, were "single-digit." 

Wizz Air Holdings rose 0.4% to 2,428.0 pence after the deep discount air carrier said passenger booking jumped 2.1% and load factor improved slightly in May. 

Credit Agricole declined 1.2% to €14.70 after the French lender said its unit, Indosuez Wealth Management, has finalized the purchase of Bank Degroof Petercam. 

Vistry Group declined 1.3% to 1,291.0 pence after the home builder agreed to sell 1,750 homes to the private equity group Backstone and its partner Regis in a £580 million deal.

The group of "affordable homes" are located across 36 developments in south-east England and meets demands from housing associations and families. 

Vistry said most homes are expected to be delivered over the next two years, with the first batch of deliveries in June.