Latest news with #FederalStatisticalOffice
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German markets steady as investors await inflation data
Investors on the German stock market remained cautious on Friday, as they awaited inflation figures from Germany and developments surrounding the US tariff policy. A public holiday in Germany the previous day is likely to slow trading, with many investors enjoying a long weekend. The leading German stock exchange index, the DAX, climbed 0.19% to 23,978.18 points shortly after the start of trading on Friday. The second-tier MDAX of medium-sized companies remained virtually unchanged at 30,698.45 points. The eurozone's leading index, the EURO STOXX 50, fell slightly. This followed the DAX's previous record run to almost 24,326 points in the middle of the week, after which some investors cashed in during thin holiday trading on Thursday. Observers are now focusing on economic data, with experts awaiting the May inflation figures from Germany's Federal Statistical Office at 2 pm (1200 GMT). "This information is important in view of next week's ECB [European Central Bank] Governing Council meeting," experts from the Landesbank Helaba said in their morning commentary. The ECB is set to make a decision on interest rates at the meeting on Thursday. Price data from the United States will also be released shortly after the German inflation figures. Court rulings on the US government's tariff policy have muddied the situation on the financial markets, according to the Helaba experts. "A large proportion of the tariffs have been declared invalid and blocked, but an appeals court has now reinstated the easures, for the time being. The situation remains tense," they said. Investors on Wall Street, however, were largely unfazed by the legal wrangling. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Eurozone disinflation on track as price pressures ease in Germany, Italy and Spain
Consumer price growth in Germany held steady in May, while inflation eased in Spain and Italy, reinforcing expectations of a broader disinflation trend across the eurozone. The preliminary figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office on Friday show that annual inflation in the eurozone's largest economy held steady at 2.1% in May 2025. The reading came in slightly below analysts' expectations of 2.2%. On a monthly basis, German consumer prices rose by just 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from April's 0.4% increase and the weakest gain since January. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, is estimated to have risen by 2.8% year-on-year, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures remain more resilient. Disinflation trends are also visible across Southern Europe. In Spain, preliminary data show the annual consumer price index fell to 1.9% in May, down from 2.2% in April and under the 2.1% anticipated by markets. The deceleration was largely driven by lower prices in leisure and cultural services, as well as more modest increases in electricity and transport costs compared to the same period in 2024. Spanish core inflation also edged down by 0.3 percentage points, settling at 2.1%. Italy recorded an annual inflation rate of 1.7% in May, slipping from 1.9% in April and in line with consensus forecasts. The latest national readings reinforce expectations that euro area headline inflation will ease further when the aggregate May data are published next week. Median economist forecasts point to a decline from 2.2% in April to 2.1% in May. Goldman Sachs on Friday lowered its forecast for eurozone inflation to 1.95% year-on-year, down from a prior estimate of 1.99%. The bank also revised its core inflation forecast downward by seven basis points, to 2.37%, citing subdued underlying pressures in Germany. With inflation across the bloc moving further closer to the European Central Bank's 2% target, the data add weight to expectations that the ECB may continue to ease interest rates at its next week meeting. The euro traded flat at 1.1335 against the dollar after Germany's inflation print, though it remained 0.3% down on the day. European government bond yields were little changed, with the German 10-year Bund yield steady at 2.53%. Equity markets showed mixed performance. The Euro STOXX 50 index dipped 0.4% by mid-afternoon, on track for a broadly unchanged week. Germany's DAX, however, gained 0.2%, climbing back above the 24,000 mark. In other news, oil prices fell sharply amid speculation that OPEC+ could increase production by more than 411,000 barrels per day in July. WTI crude futures dropped over 1.5% to $60.2 (€55.3) per barrel, while Brent slid below $63 (€57.9). Meanwhile, geopolitical risks resurfaced after US President Donald Trump accused China of violating the bilateral trade agreement, reigniting concerns over potential tariff escalations. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Eurozone disinflation on track as price pressures ease in Germany, Italy and Spain
Consumer price growth in Germany held steady in May, while inflation eased in Spain and Italy, reinforcing expectations of a broader disinflation trend across the eurozone. The preliminary figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office on Friday show that annual inflation in the eurozone's largest economy held steady at 2.1% in May 2025. The reading came in slightly below analysts' expectations of 2.2%. On a monthly basis, German consumer prices rose by just 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from April's 0.4% increase and the weakest gain since January. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, is estimated to have risen by 2.8% year-on-year, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures remain more resilient. Disinflation trends are also visible across Southern Europe. In Spain, preliminary data show the annual consumer price index fell to 1.9% in May, down from 2.2% in April and under the 2.1% anticipated by markets. The deceleration was largely driven by lower prices in leisure and cultural services, as well as more modest increases in electricity and transport costs compared to the same period in 2024. Spanish core inflation also edged down by 0.3 percentage points, settling at 2.1%. Italy recorded an annual inflation rate of 1.7% in May, slipping from 1.9% in April and in line with consensus forecasts. The latest national readings reinforce expectations that euro area headline inflation will ease further when the aggregate May data are published next week. Median economist forecasts point to a decline from 2.2% in April to 2.1% in May. Goldman Sachs on Friday lowered its forecast for eurozone inflation to 1.95% year-on-year, down from a prior estimate of 1.99%. The bank also revised its core inflation forecast downward by seven basis points, to 2.37%, citing subdued underlying pressures in Germany. With inflation across the bloc moving further closer to the European Central Bank's 2% target, the data add weight to expectations that the ECB may continue to ease interest rates at its next week meeting. The euro traded flat at 1.1335 against the dollar after Germany's inflation print, though it remained 0.3% down on the day. European government bond yields were little changed, with the German 10-year Bund yield steady at 2.53%. Equity markets showed mixed performance. The Euro STOXX 50 index dipped 0.4% by mid-afternoon, on track for a broadly unchanged week. Germany's DAX, however, gained 0.2%, climbing back above the 24,000 mark. In other news, oil prices fell sharply amid speculation that OPEC+ could increase production by more than 411,000 barrels per day in July. WTI crude futures dropped over 1.5% to $60.2 (€55.3) per barrel, while Brent slid below $63 (€57.9). Meanwhile, geopolitical risks resurfaced after US President Donald Trump accused China of violating the bilateral trade agreement, reigniting concerns over potential tariff escalations.
Euronews
5 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
Eurozone disinflation on track as price pressures ease in Germany
Consumer price growth in Germany held steady in May, while inflation eased in Spain and Italy, reinforcing expectations of a broader disinflation trend across the eurozone. The preliminary figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office on Friday show that annual inflation in the eurozone's largest economy held steady at 2.1% in May 2025. The reading came in slightly below analysts' expectations of 2.2%. On a monthly basis, German consumer prices rose by just 0.1%, a sharp slowdown from April's 0.4% increase and the weakest gain since January. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, is estimated to have risen by 2.8% year-on-year, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures remain more resilient. Disinflation trends are also visible across Southern Europe. In Spain, preliminary data show the annual consumer price index fell to 1.9% in May, down from 2.2% in April and under the 2.1% anticipated by markets. The deceleration was largely driven by lower prices in leisure and cultural services, as well as more modest increases in electricity and transport costs compared to the same period in 2024. Spanish core inflation also edged down by 0.3 percentage points, settling at 2.1%. Italy recorded an annual inflation rate of 1.7% in May, slipping from 1.9% in April and in line with consensus forecasts. The latest national readings reinforce expectations that euro area headline inflation will ease further when the aggregate May data are published next week. Median economist forecasts point to a decline from 2.2% in April to 2.1% in May. Goldman Sachs on Friday lowered its forecast for eurozone inflation to 1.95% year-on-year, down from a prior estimate of 1.99%. The bank also revised its core inflation forecast downward by seven basis points, to 2.37%, citing subdued underlying pressures in Germany. With inflation across the bloc moving further closer to the European Central Bank's 2% target, the data add weight to expectations that the ECB may continue to ease interest rates at its next week meeting. The euro traded flat at 1.1335 against the dollar after Germany's inflation print, though it remained 0.3% down on the day. European government bond yields were little changed, with the German 10-year Bund yield steady at 2.53%. Equity markets showed mixed performance. The Euro STOXX 50 index dipped 0.4% by mid-afternoon, on track for a broadly unchanged week. Germany's DAX, however, gained 0.2%, climbing back above the 24,000 mark. In other news, oil prices fell sharply amid speculation that OPEC+ could increase production by more than 411,000 barrels per day in July. WTI crude futures dropped over 1.5% to $60.2 (€55.3) per barrel, while Brent slid below $63 (€57.9). Meanwhile, geopolitical risks resurfaced after US President Donald Trump accused China of violating the bilateral trade agreement, reigniting concerns over potential tariff escalations. Inflation in Spain fell in May to 1.9%, but the underlying inflation index remains above the price stability level, at 2.1%, according to data published on Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached its lowest value since last October, when it stood at 1.8%. The European Central Bank considers that the best way to maintain price stability in the euro area is to have an inflation target of 2% in the medium term, according to the Bank of Spain. Therefore, the general index achieves a certain stability after the high percentages registered during the last year. However, the underlying index, which eliminates the effect of the most volatile prices, is above 2%. However, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) fell by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year in May to 1.9%, and recorded a monthly decrease of 0.1%. With the slowdown in the year-on-year CPI recorded in May, inflation has now seen three consecutive months of declines in its annual rate. According to INE, this moderation, which places the CPI at 1.9%, is mainly due to the drop in leisure and culture prices, lower prices in the transport sector, and a smaller increase in electricity tariffs compared with the same month in 2024. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise stressed that the favourable evolution of services related to the tourism sector, along with the positive performance of electricity prices, played an important part in this inflation decline. With the decrease in May, the core inflation rate returns to a path of moderation following a rise of 0.4 percentage points in April.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German inflation rate expected to remain steady in May
Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) is due to announce the rate of inflation in May based on initial data on Friday, with economists expecting a similar inflation rate to April. The central bank, or Bundesbank, assumes that the rate will fluctuate around the 2% mark in the coming months. In April, the annual inflation rate in Germany fell to 2.1%, its lowest level since October, mainly because energy was cheaper than in the same month a year earlier. The still comparatively low oil price suggests that there were no jumps in energy prices in May either. Additional relief is also expected from the German government's announcement that it will reduce the electricity tax. However, there is no sign of relief in sight for services, which have recently seen above-average price increases. Another factor contributing to uncertainty about inflation is the tariff dispute with the United States, which could make goods more expensive.
