The number of unemployed in Germany unexpectedly rose in March, underscoring the severity of the recession in the eurozone.
Data issued by the Federal Labour Agency showed that the number of people out of work climbed a seasonally adjusted 21,000 to 2.96 million. This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the number of unemployed to increase by 5,000. Meanwhile, the adjusted jobless rate held steady at 6.9 per cent, which is only slightly above a 20-year low of 6.8 per cent. German GDP grew a mere 0.1 per cent in the first quarter.
In the UK, according to mortgage lender Nationwide, house prices increased at an annual rate of 1.1 per cent in May. This is the fastest annual pace since November 2011, and was buoyed by the Bank of England’s initiative to reduce the cost of borrowing and the government’s Help to Buy scheme.
The increase is slightly more than expected and an improvement on the 0.9 per cent annual increase registered in April. Compared to April, prices were up 0.4 per cent, in line with forecasts. Nationwide also reported that property sales in the first four months of 2013 were five per cent higher than the average for the entire 2012.
Finally in the US, the second reading of GDP shows that, during the first quarter of this year, the economy expanded less than previously estimated. Slower inventory build-up and reductions in government spending counterbalanced gains in consumer purchases.
According to the Commerce Department, the revised GDP increased by an annualised rate of 2.4 per cent. A survey by Bloomberg News had forecast no revision from the 2.5 per cent increase initially reported.
Separately, the Case-Shiller home price index of 20 US cities for the year through to March showed the biggest yearly gain in seven years as prices increased 10.9 per cent year-over-year.
This article was compiled by Bank of Valletta for general information purposes only.