Modest Gain In Eurozone PMI Revives Recovery Hopes


An indicator of Eurozone's private sector activity improved more than expected in May, renewing hopes that the economy is inching towards a recovery. Nonetheless, the indicator remained in negative territory, signaling sharp deterioration in overall business activity.



The composite output index, which measures the performance of the both manufacturing and service sectors, rose to a three-month high of 47.7 in May from 46.9 in April, flash results of a survey by Markit Economics showed Thursday.



Readings below 50 indicates contraction in activity. Economists had predicted an increase in the index to 47.2.



New orders across the private sector fell sharply again in May and for the twenty-second successive month. The rate of decline was unchanged from that seen in April, Markit said.



The modest improvement in May raises hopes that overall Eurozone economic activity is inching towards stabilization, said Howard Archer, Chief European and UK Economist at IHS Global Insight.



"It is worrying to see that the decline in new orders was unchanged at a significant level in May, so a seventh successive quarter of Eurozone GDP decline, albeit modest, remains very possible in the second quarter," Archer said.



The purchasing managers' index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector, rose to 47.8 from April's score of 46.7. This was forecast to rise to 47. The manufacturing output index rose to a four-month high of 48.2 from 46.5 in April.



The services activity index edged up to 47.5 in May from 47 in the previous month, while expectations were for a modest increase to 47.2.



Eurozone's economic downturn eased in the first quarter with the gross domestic product falling at a slower pace of 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter.

In May, the European Commission cut its economic forecast for euro area and said the economy will contract 0.4 percent in 2013. The economy is expected to start recovering from its record-long recession in 2014.



"May's euro-zone PMI survey adds to the recent run of slightly more encouraging news from the region, but there is little sign that the region is about to emerge from recession," said Ben May, an economist at Capital Economics.



Earlier in the month, the European Central Bank reduced the main refinancing rate by 25 basis points to a record low 0.50 percent to support the economy. ECB Chief Mario Draghi has said that the monetary policy will remain accommodative "as long as needed."



Markit said that the employment at Eurozone's private sector firms fell for the seventeenth consecutive month, with the rate of job losses rising to the highest since February.



The survey found strong divergences between the region's two largest economies. Business activity declined for a second successive month in Germany, but the downturn was only very marginal. Meanwhile, a steep rate of decline in French activity was reported in May.





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2013-5-23 16:28

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Slovenia Inflation Soars In July


Slovenia's inflation rose sharply in July to its highest level in five months, data released by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia showed on Wednesday.



Inflation based on the consumer price index acclerated to 2.6 percent in June from 1.9 percent in May. The rate rose for the second straight month and was the highest since February's 2.7 percent.



Month-on-month, consumer prices declined 0.3 percent, after remaining stable in the previous month.



The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.8 percent year-on-year, following a 2.2 percent increase in May.



On a monthly basis, the HICP dropped 0.3 percent in June and stood stable in May, data showed.





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2013-07-31 17:35

Slovenia's Unemployment Rate Drops To 13% In May


Slovenia's unemployment rate decreased from the previous month in June, data released by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia showed Tuesday.



The unemployment rate decreased to 13 percent in May from 13.3 percent in April. In May 2013, the jobless rate was 11.7 percent. Since February this year, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points.



There were 118,576 unemployed persons in Slovenia at the end of May, which was lower than 121,332 recorded in the previous month.



The jobless rate among youth, aged between 15 and 24, was 28.3 percent in May, lower than 29.1 percent recorded a month earlier.



At the same time, the number of persons in employment increased by around 2,400 month-on-month to 795,402 in May, continuing the trend began at the beginning of the year. The upturn was led by a notable rise in headcounts in the construction sector, data showed.





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2013-07-16 19:00

U.K. House Prices Rise At Fastest Pace In 6 Years


U.K. house prices increased the most in six years as widening supply and demand gap lifted asking prices in London, a survey conducted by Hometrack revealed Monday.



House prices in England and Wales advanced 0.4 percent in May from a month ago, which was the biggest increase since May 2007.



In London, prices surged 0.9 percent, followed by a 0.5 percent increase across the South-east. According to the property analysts, demand over the last six months increased 15 percent in London, while supply dropped 0.6 percent.



"The impetus for rising house prices is originating almost exclusively from London and the South East," Director of research at Hometrack, Richard Donnell said.

"Elsewhere, housing market conditions are improving gradually."



A property market survey by Rightmove revealed on May 20 that house prices increased for the fifth consecutive month in May, pushing the average asking prices to a record. Cheap money and more positive mood released pent-up demand.



The 9.1 percent year-to-date increase was the strongest price start to a year since 2004, Rightmove said.



Recent house price data signals that the government's Help to Buy program as well as the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme started to underpin recovery in the property market.



The recent Halifax survey also showed a revival in the residential property market helped by the low levels of mortgage payments in relation to income.





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2013-05-27 12:42