European industrial orders fall in March

In another sign that the European economy is slowing, Bloomberg reports that industrial orders in the euro area fell in March.

European industrial orders fell twice as fast as economists forecast in March, hurt by the euro's gains, higher oil prices and a cooling U.S. economy.

Industrial orders in the euro area fell 1 percent from February, the first decline in three months, after increasing a revised 0.2 percent the previous month, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Economists had forecast a decline of 0.5 percent, according to the median of 15 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

German confidence, on the other hand, was up in May. From Bloomberg:

German business confidence unexpectedly increased in May as companies coped with record oil prices and the stronger euro, reducing the likelihood the European Central Bank will cut interest rates.

The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, rose to 103.5 from 102.4 in April...

German investor confidence unexpectedly fell for a second month in May, the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said yesterday...

The latest data on the UK economy, though, are quite negative. From Bloomberg:

U.K. retail sales fell for a second month in April as slumping house prices, faster inflation and the dearth of credit discouraged spending.

Sales declined 0.2 percent from March, when they dropped by the same amount, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Economists forecast a 0.5 percent drop, the median of 30 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. Sales increased 4.2 percent from a year earlier...

Business investment fell 1.4 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, the statistics office said in a separate report today. On the year, it rose 3.7 percent.

And UK industry is looking at higher prices and fewer orders. Reuters reports:

British manufacturers expect to raise prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade despite a second consecutive monthly fall in their order books, a survey showed on Thursday...

The price expectations balance of the Confederation of British Industry's monthly industrial trends survey rose to +30 this month from +25 in April. That was the strongest reading since February 1995...

The total order books balance was -10, broadly in line with expectations and the second consecutive negative reading. The balance was -13 in April, the weakest rate since October 2006.

Outside Europe, Japan's exports picked up in April but the trade balance is deteriorating. AFP/CNA reports:

Japan's trade surplus tumbled by a worse than expected 46.3 percent in April due to the rising cost of energy imports and falling exports to the US economy, the government said Thursday...

Exports rose 4.0 percent to 6.90 trillion yen, after an increase of just 2.3 percent in March. Imports rose 11.9 percent in April to 6.41 trillion yen.

No doubt, the Japanese would be relieved that oil prices pulled back yesterday.