FX Economics - Australia Retail Sales decrease in Feb. Swiss inflation rises. German factory orders fall. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

April 4, 2008 - Forex Economic News

FX Economics - Australia Retail Sales decrease in Feb. Swiss inflation rises. German factory orders fall.

Australian retail sales dip.

Australia's Bureau of Statistics released data today on Australian retail sales for February. The report showed that retail sales decreased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in February. This follows a revised decrease in retail sales of 0.1 percent in January and an increase of 0.3 percent in December of 2007. February's 0.1 percent decrease brought the total retail sales to AU$20.083 billion.

Swiss inflation rises.

Inflation increased in Switzerland to a 14 year high as the Swiss Consumer Prices rose by 0.3 percent in March according to the Federal Statistics Office. The price increase in March was the highest level since October of 1993 and brought the annual rate of inflation up to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent in February. Higher prices in oil and food pushed consumer prices higher in March as oil reached all time highs above $110.00 a barrel in the month. Core inflation, minus energy and food prices, increased 1.4 in March compared with 1.2 percent in February.

German Factory Orders decline.

Factory orders in Germany fell by 0.5 percent in February according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany today. February's decrease follows a January decrease of 0.7 percent and was well below economic forecasts expecting a gain of 0.8 percent. Despite the decline in February, factory orders have increased by 9.0 percent compared to February 2007. Contributing to the decline in February was the high exchange rate of the euro which has hampered Germany's export sales as Germany's foreign orders fell 1.1 percent in February.

Tags: australia retail sales, swiss inflation, consumer prices, german factory orders, exports, aud, chf, eur

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