The Eurozone's trade surplus figures and the UK's trade deficit were the focus of last week's economic headlines.

In the Eurozone, the seasonally unadjusted external trade surplus in the 16 countries using the euro was €3.7 billion in September against market expectations of a €2 billion deficit in a Reuters poll.

This increase was largely due to a recovery in exports. In fact, exports jumped by 5.5% month-on-month while imports rose only 1.1%.

Meanwhile, cheaper food and fuel pulled down the euro consumer prices index in October for a fifth month running in annual terms. Prices in the Eurozone rose 0.2% last month compared with September, but dipped 0.1% year-on-year.

In the UK, the deficit in October was the worst since records began in 1993, as the longest recession on record ravaged tax revenues. The government's preferred accruals-based measure came in at £11.4 billion, when economists expected a figure of just £7 billion.

Public sector net debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product was 59.2% in October, the highest since records began in 1974-75.

The Bank of England published the minutes of its last monetary policy meeting held on November 5. The vast majority of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members agreed on a £25 billion expansion to the quantitative easing programme to support the economy.

In the US, retail sales grew more than expected in October as car purchases bounced back while non-auto sales rose modestly. In fact, total sales increased by 1.4% last month after dropping 2.3% in September. Meanwhile, there was disappointing industrial production data, with the October increase stuck at 0.1% compared to expectations of a 0.4% increase.

As far as inflation is concerned, there was a 0.3% increase in consumer prices in October while core prices rose 0.2% for the month. Headline prices fell 0.2% over the year, but this was much less than the previous month's 1.3% decline.

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