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Economy in Brief
Empire State Manufacturing Sector Improvement Moderates
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions declined to 10.9 in December...
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Consumers continued to exhibit their inclination to spend as holiday shopping got underway...
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Industrial production jumped a greater-than-expected 0.6% (3.9% year-on-year) during November...
U.S. Business Inventory Accumulation Picks Up
Total business inventories increased 0.6% (5.1% y/y) during October...
U.S. Import Prices Weaken As Petroleum Prices Fall; Export Prices Also Decline
Import prices fell 1.6% (+0.7% y/y) during November following an unrevised 0.5% October rise...
by Robert Brusca August 22, 2008
Import growth in the Euro Area is still firm while export growth is fading. Import growth is of course is supported by strength in oil imports, much of that on the price side. For manufactured goods both exports and imports are weak over 12 months with imports falling by 1.8% and exports up by a scant 0.8%.
The accompanying chart tells the story of the trends with trade deficits posted in five of the past seven months. Europe is slowing down. Europe’s exports are slowing down. It’s a strong euro, weak domestic growth and a weakening global economy at work that is producing these results.
| Euro Area 15-Trade Trends for Goods | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m/m% | % Saar | |||||
| Jun-08 | May-08 | 3M | 6M | 12M | 12M Ago | |
| Balance* | €€ (2,954) | €€ (1,035) | €€ (861) | €€ (440) | €€ 1,543 | €€ (1,610) |
| Exports | ||||||
| All exports | 1.4% | -4.7% | 8.5% | 11.3% | 4.2% | 10.1% |
| Food and drinks | -0.4% | -0.7% | 8.5% | 13.5% | 9.5% | 11.4% |
| Raw materials | 2.4% | -1.1% | 23.4% | 31.3% | 10.4% | 11.1% |
| Other | 1.5% | -5.1% | 8.2% | 10.7% | 3.7% | 9.9% |
| MFG | 1.1% | -3.8% | 6.9% | 11.2% | 0.8% | 13.3% |
| Imports | ||||||
| All imports | 2.9% | -3.0% | 14.8% | 14.1% | 10.6% | 3.8% |
| Food and drinks | 0.6% | 0.2% | 7.9% | -2.1% | 8.3% | 7.4% |
| Raw materials | -1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 6.7% | 2.3% | 15.5% |
| Other | 3.2% | -3.3% | 16.0% | 15.6% | 11.2% | 3.0% |
| MFG | 0.3% | -1.3% | -0.3% | 3.8% | -1.7% | 9.9% |
| *Millions of Euros; mo or period average | ||||||
