The UK private sector registered a renewed downturn in May amid the growing impact of the war in the Middle East. The flash composite output index fell to 48.5 in May from 52.6 in April. The score was expected to fall to 51.6. The downturn in the British private sector was driven by a renewed fall in service sector output, which contrasted with a stronger upturn in manufacturing production.
The European Commission downgraded its growth outlook for the euro area economy citing the unprecedented disruption to global energy markets due to the conflict in the Middle East. In the Spring Economic Forecast, the commission said the currency bloc is set to grow 0.9 percent this year, slower than the 1.2 percent projected earlier. The forecast for next year was trimmed to 1.2 percent from 1.
Households in Denmark remained more pessimistic in May. The consumer confidence index worsened to -19.8 in May from -18.6 in the previous month. The opinion regarding households' financial situation over the next year turned more pessimistic, with the respective index falling to -9.5 from -6.8 in April.
The euro area current account surplus declined in March largely due to the fall in goods trade surplus, the European Central Bank said Thursday. The current account surplus fell to EUR 15 billion from EUR 26 billion in February. In the same period last year, the surplus totaled EUR 29 billion. The...
Poland's industrial production growth moderated in April, while producer prices increased for the second straight month. Industrial production advanced 3.1 percent year-over-year in April, slower than the revised 7.5 percent growth in the prior month. Producer prices rose 1.9 percent yearly in April, following a 1.2 percent increase in March, which was the first rise since July 2023.
Italy's current account surplus increased notably in March from the previous year. The current account surplus rose to EUR 1.75 billion from EUR 0.28 billion in the corresponding month last year. The goods surplus decreased somewhat to EUR 3.75 billion from EUR 3.76 billion. Meanwhile, the deficit in services trade narrowed to EUR 1.9 billion from EUR 2.1 million.
Switzerland's industrial production declined at the steepest pace in nearly six years. Industrial production fell 7.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, much faster than the 0.4 percent drop in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing output logged a renewed contraction of 7.1 percent, and the energy supply segment continued to decline by 6.9 percent
The euro area private sector registered a renewed contraction in April as the war in the Middle East took its toll on business activity, flash survey data from S&P Global showed Thursday. The flash composite output index logged 47.5 in May, down from 48.8 in the previous month. The score was expected to remain stable at 48.8.
Germany's private sector contracted in May amid a backdrop of weakening demand and high inflationary pressures, flash survey data from S&P Global showed Thursday. The flash composite output index fell to 48.6 in May from 48.4 in April. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction. Economists had forecast...
Sweden's jobless rate decreased in April after rising to a 10-month high in the previous month. The unadjusted unemployment dropped to 8.7 percent in April from 9.7 percent in March. There were 500,100 unemployed people in the country compared to 564,900 in March. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless rate declined to 8.5 percent from 9.2 percent.
France's private sector contracted at the sharpest pace in five-and-a-half years in May, flash survey data from S&P Global revealed Thursday. The flash composite output index dropped to 43.5 in May from 47.6 in the prior month. This was the lowest score since November 2020 and also stayed below forecast...
Consumers in the Netherlands remained more negative in May, while the unemployment rate decreased further in April to the lowest level in eight months. The consumer confidence index dropped to -46 in May from -44 in April. This was the lowest score since January 2023, when it was -49. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in April from 4.0 percent in March.
Luxembourg's unemployment rate held steady for the third straight month in April. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate came in at 6.3 percent in April, the same as in the previous three months. In the corresponding month last year, the rate was 5.9 percent. The number of unemployed people was 20,265 compared to 20,323 in the previous month.
Slovakia's EU measure of inflation increased in April to the highest level in three months. The EU measure of the harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in April, faster than the 3.7 percent increase in March. Inflation based on transportation accelerated sharply to 7.2 percent from 2.1 percent, and health costs were 4.8 percent more expensive.
Italy's construction output decreased for the fifth successive month in March. Construction production dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month in March, following a 0.1 percent decrease in the previous month. The annual outcome was also a decrease of 0.2 percent versus a 0.8 percent rebound in February.
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.