Indicator scoreboard
EMU - September harmonized index of consumer prices was up 0.3 percent and up 2.1 percent when compared with last year. Core HICP (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) was up 1.8 percent on the year while core excluding energy and unprocessed foods - the figure the ECB focuses on - was up 2 percent. Energy prices were flat on the month but food prices jumped 0.6 percent due in large part to the August drought in Europe.

August seasonally and calendar adjusted industrial production declined 0.4 percent but inched up 0.1 percent when compared with last year. Eurostat said the total drop in August industrial production is smaller than indicated by national data because of separate seasonal adjustment methods. Output fell in Germany, Belgium, Finland, France, Spain, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Germany - October ZEW economic expectations index edged down to 60.3 from 60.9 in the previous month. This was the first decline after nine straight monthly improvements. The index is compiled by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. They surveyed 310 German financial experts from September 29 through October 13 for their opinions on current economic conditions and the economic outlook for major industrial economies. ZEW said that the euro's latest appreciation and recently mixed data in Germany, Europe and elsewhere in the world, particularly in the United States, weighed on expectations. The ZEW survey results on the German economic outlook and current conditions have often correlated well with the corresponding component indices of the closely watched Ifo business sentiment index for west Germany.

France - August seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus narrowed to €756 million from July's €1.209 billion surplus. Exports dropped 1.9 percent. Semi-finished goods and capital goods exports continued to drop. Imports were down 0.2 percent after sinking 4.2 percent in July. Semi-finished and consumer goods imports remained depressed despite auto imports near record levels. Energy imports rose during the August heat wave.

Italy - August seasonally and workday adjusted industrial production edged up 0.1 percent and was up 1.7 percent when compared with last year. Consumer goods' output dropped 0.8 percent while output of investment goods rose 0.8 percent.

August world merchandise trade surplus was €1.37 billion compared with a surplus of €1.42 billion a year ago. Imports with rest of the world plummeted 11.8 percent while exports sank by 11.1 percent.

Britain - September seasonally adjusted input prices fell 1.2 percent but rose 0.4 percent on the year. This was the largest monthly drop since November 2002. Crude oil prices fell 9.6 percent and were down 7.6 percent on the year. Output prices rose 0.1 percent and were up 1.5 percent on a year earlier. Output prices were up due to increased petroleum products and other manufactured products prices. Seasonally adjusted core output prices, which exclude food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum, also rose 0.1 percent on the month and were up 1.3 percent on the year.

September retail price index was up 0.5 percent and 2.8 percent when compared with last year. The retail price index excluding mortgage interest payments was also up 0.5 percent and 2.8 percent on the year. A new index for air fares was responsible for the downward pressure on the index. Seasonal food prices were up largely due to the exceptionally hot summer. The harmonized index of consumer prices, on which the new inflation target will be based later this year, rose 0.3 percent on the month and 1.4 percent on the year.

September claimant unemployment rate remained at 3.1 percent. The International Labour Organization unemployment rate for the three months to August remained at 5 percent. However, employment declined by 9,000 for the three-month period to August when compared with the previous three months.

Average earnings growth rose to 3.4 percent in August from 3.3 percent in July. Service earnings growth rose to 3.7 percent from 3.5 percent while manufacturing earnings slipped to 3 percent from 3.1 percent. Excluding bonuses, average earnings rose 4 percent in August compared with a year earlier, up from 3.7 percent in the previous month.

Asia
Japan - August seasonally adjusted industrial output was revised to a decline of 0.7 percent from the originally reported 0.5 percent drop. Output was down 1.3 on the year. The decline suggests that the nation's economic recovery remains on a weak footing. However shipments were up 0.5 percent on the month.

Americas
Canada - August factory shipments sank 4.5 percent to the lowest level since December 2001. The aftermath of the electrical blackout in mid-August, which cloaked much of Ontario in darkness, was one of several factors contributing to the decline. Shipments in Ontario plunged 7.8 percent (Ontarians were requested to conserve power because of low energy supplies). Large decreases in shipments were reported by several industries, including motor vehicles and chemical products. Excluding the significant influence of Ontario from the Canada total, manufacturing shipments decreased 0.8 percent. Manufacturers continued to cope with the effects of several short-range but significant shocks. The Canadian dollar began to climb at the beginning of the year and continues to jeopardize the profit margins of many Canadian manufacturers reliant on the export market. In August, Canadian beef remained stalled at the border, as the international ban on exports of beef products continued. The ban was first imposed in late May following the discovery of a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta. In early September, the first shipments of some low-risk cuts of boneless beef crossed the border, as the United States agreed to a partial lifting of the ban. Fifteen of 21 manufacturing industries, accounting for 68 percent of total shipments, reported declines. Unfilled orders dropped 1.5 percent, the lowest level since October 1997. August's decline marked the twelfth straight decrease in unfilled orders. New orders sank 4.9 percent, wiping out June and July's gains. New orders are at their lowest level since December 2001.

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