Macedonia, Portugal and Greece Economic Indicators on Easter Monday

By FXEmpire.com

On this Easter Monday bank holiday most European markets and government offices are closed. Very little was released in the way of economic news. Tuesday economic calendar is also thin. It is a pretty short list.

Here are today’s highlights:

Macedonia’s consumer prices increased from last year in March, data released by the State Statistical Office showed Monday.

The consumer price index increased 1.4 percent on an annual basis in March. Prices of clothing and footwear advanced 1.6 percent annually, while housing costs and utility prices climbed 6.4 percent during the month.

There was an 8.1 percent annual growth in transportation costs, and a 1 percent decrease in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.4 percent in March, slower than the 0.5 percent growth seen in the previous month.

Portuguese exports increased at a steady pace compared to a year earlier in February, data from Statistics Portugal showed Monday.

Exports of goods rose 13.2 percent annually in February, nearly at the same pace as in the previous month. On a monthly basis, exports grew 6.1 percent.

Imports, on the other hand, fell 3.5 percent, erasing previous month’s gain of 3.1 percent. Month-on-month, imports dropped 2.6 percent.

Shipments increased 10.2 percent in the quarter ended in February compared to the same period last year. Imports, however, decreased 6 percent. This led to a EUR 1.83 billion decrease in the trade deficit during the period.

Greek industrial production continued its downward trend in February amid stringent austerity and weak domestic demand, the latest figures released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed Monday.

The working-day adjusted production index for the industrial sector fell 8.3 percent year-on-year in February, faster than 6 percent fall in the preceding month. However, on a monthly basis, the index gained 3 percent following 1.7 percent drop in January.

Compared to last year, manufacturing production plunged 10.6 percent, while output of mining and quarrying industry dropped 11.5 percent. Electricity production was 1.8 percent lower than last year.

Energy output rose 1 percent year-on-year during the month, while production of intermediate goods fell 19.1 percent. There a was 21.1 percent reduction in output of consumer durables, and consumer non-durables fell 13.6 percent. Capital goods production was up 4.7 percent.

Greek exports grew for a third consecutive month in February, data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed Monday.

Exports rose 1.4 percent year-on-year in February to EUR 1.25 billion compared with 1.9 percent increase in January.

Reflecting weak domestic demand, imports fell 13.7 percent annually to EUR 2.3 billion. This marked a sixth consecutive decline. The trade balance was in deficit of EUR 1.098 billion.

On a monthly basis, exports grew 3.3 percent and imports were up 4.9 percent

Greece’s consumer price inflation slowed to the lowest level in seven months in March, data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed Monday.

The consumer price index increased 1.7 percent year-on-year in March, markedly slower than the 2.1 percent growth seen in February. The latest inflation rate was the lowest since August 2011, when prices moved up 1.7 percent.

Originally posted here