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.