Output, prices and jobs

From The Economist print edition(Mar 13th 2008)

Trade, exchange rates, budget balances and interest rates

From The Economist print edition(Mar 13th 2008)

Economic and financial indicators

Mar 13th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Oil prices reached a new record on March 12th, when the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate rose above $110.

American employers, excluding farms, cut 63,000 workers from their payrolls in February, the largest decline in almost five years. The unemployment rate nevertheless edged down from 4.9% to 4.8%, as many jobseekers gave up looking for work. America's trade deficit widened slightly, from $57.9 billion to $58.2 billion in January.

Consumer prices in China rose by 8.7% in the year to February, the highest rate for more than 12 years. Food prices were 23.3% higher than a year earlier.

Industrial production in the euro area rose by 0.9% in January, leaving it 3.8% higher than a year earlier.

Japan's index of household consumer confidence fell by 3.7% in February, reaching its lowest level since March 2003.

Consumer-price inflation in Sweden edged down from 3.2% to 3.1% in February.

In Norway consumer prices rose by 3.7% in the year to February.

In the Czech Republic GDP rose by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it 6.6% higher than a year earlier.

India's industrial production rose by 5.3% in the year to January.