Wednesday 27 September 2006

US consumer confidence up, German business confidence down

Yesterday's economic data erased some of the negativity that followed the Philadelphia Fed's report last week. From Reuters:

The Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose more sharply than expected in September to 104.5, up from an upwardly-revised 100.2 in August, as energy costs fell and job prospects improved slightly...

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported its manufacturing index rose to 9 in September, up from 3 in August and above economists' expectations for a rise to 5.

However, German business confidence edged down in September. Bloomberg reports:

The Ifo research institute in Munich said today its sentiment indicator based on a survey of 7,000 executives slipped to 104.9 from 105 in August, as executives became more pessimistic about the outlook for the next six months. Economists expected a decline to 104.4, the median of 44 estimates in a Bloomberg survey showed...

Ifo's index of executives' expectations in the next six months fell to a 10-month low of 98.9 from August's 101.4, while the gauge for the current situation jumped to 111.3, the highest since April 1991, from 108.7. The overall index reached a 15-year high of 106.8 in June.

On Monday, the Conference Board had reported that the leading index for Germany declined 0.1 percent in July, its third consecutive decline.

However, the Conference Board reported yesterday that the leading index for Australia increased in July by 0.3 percent, its fifth consecutive increase.

Meanwhile, in yet another sign that deflation is receding in Japan, its corporate services price index (CSPI) posted the first annual rise in more than eight years, rising 0.3 percent.

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