Indonesia's Current Account Deficit Narrows In Q1

The shortfall in Indonesia's current account decreased significantly in the first quarter, data released by Bank Indonesia showed Wednesday.

The current account showed a deficit of $5.27 billion during the three months ended March, lower than the $7.65 billion deficit seen in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, the balance was a deficit of $3.11 billion.

The surplus in the goods trade account increased to $1.64 billion in the first quarter from $0.8 billion in the final three months of 2012. The deficit in the services account dropped to $2.31 billion from $3.32 billion, while the shortfall in the income account decreased to $5.69 billion from $6.34 billion.

The current transfers account showed a surplus of $1.1 billion in the three months to March, compared to the $1.21 billion surplus seen in the preceding three-month period, data showed.

2013-5-15 17:25

UK House Price Sentiment Rebounds In April: Knight Frank

Confidence among British households regarding the value of their homes rebounded in April, ending the downward trend seen for nearly three years, helped mainly by improved optimism regarding the governments' recently launched mortgage scheme, data from a survey by Markit Economics and Knight Frank showed Friday.

The house price sentiment index increased to 50.6 in April from 50 in March. The index moved above the no-change 50 mark - which separates growth from contraction - for the first time in thirty-four months.

"The latest survey suggests the Help to Buy scheme has boosted house price sentiment, alongside a continued improvement in mortgage availability and more concrete signs that current values are on the up," Markit senior economist Tim Moore said.

At the same time, the outlook component of the survey, showed that British households expect the value of their homes will rise over the next 12 months, and at the sharpest rate since June 2010.

The forward-looking indicator climbed to a 34-month high of 62 in April from 58.4 in March, marking the fourth successive increase. Residents of London continued to be the most upbeat about the outlook for prices, followed by those in South East and the East of England, data showed.

2013-4-19 12:42

Brazil February Inflation Rises More Than Expected

Brazil's consumer price inflation accelerated more than economists expected in February, data released by statistical office IBGE showed Friday.

Inflation as per the consumer price index increased to 6.31 percent in February from 6.15 percent in January, while economists had forecast a more modest acceleration to 6.2 percent.

The consumer price index moved up 0.6 percent compared to January, when it rose by 0.86 percent. Economists were looking for a 0.49 percent gain, data showed.

Food and beverages prices rose at a slower pace of 1.45 percent month-on-month in February than 1.99 percent in the previous month. Housing costs dropped 2.38 percent, after falling 0.2 percent in January.

Transportation costs were higher by 0.81 percent from the previous month, and costs of wearing apparel up by 0.55 percent, data showed.

2013-3-8 16:44