Menu

In July 2010 compared with June 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production remained stable in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June production fell by 0.2% in the euro area, but rose by 0.1% in the EU27.

The economic recovery in the EU has gained ground of late. GDP growth in the second quarter of 2010 was particularly strong, and more balanced towards domestic demand than previously anticipated. While activity is still expected to moderate in the second half of the year, the outlook is for a slightly improved quarterly profile compared to the spring forecast, due to the spill-over of some momentum from the second quarter. For 2010 as a whole, real GDP growth is now projected at 1.8% in the EU and 1.7% in the euro area, a sizeable upward revision. The recovery remains fragile however, with uncertainty high and developments across Member States uneven. The Commission's inflation forecast for 2010 is broadly unchanged since the spring, at 1.8% in the EU and 1.4% in the euro area.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 0.2 percent in July to 103.4 (2004=100), following gains of 0.5 percent in June and 0.4 percent in May. Five of the seven components made positive contributions to the index in July.

How have the changes in our society affected marriage rates and the proportion of births outside marriage over the last twenty years? How much does government spend as a proportion of GDP, and how is this spending split between social protection, health and education? What are the recent developments in lifelong learning? The answers to these questions and to many more can be found in the 14th edition of the Eurostat yearbook, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents decreased from 3.7% in June 2010 to 3.4% in July. For the outstanding amount of quoted shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate was 1.8% in July 2010, compared with 1.9% in June.

Fitch Ratings says that Europe's oil refining sector still faces a challenging recovery from the cyclical lows of 2009 given the persistently weak demand for oil products in Europe and OECD countries. Nevertheless, the sector credit outlook, which remains challenging, has improved compared to 12-18 months ago, as there is less uncertainty regarding the depth and length of the refining trough given moderate improvements since the 2009 trough.

On 1 January 2009, 31.9 million foreign citizens lived in the EU27 Member States, of which 11.9 million were citizens of another EU27 Member State. The remaining were citizens of countries outside the EU27, in particular from other European countries (7.2 million), Africa (4.9 million), Asia (4.0 million) and the American continent (3.3 million). Foreign citizens accounted for 6.4% of the total EU27 population.

Fifty-three percent of organizations in Europe said they will outsource more in 2010, and 40 percent of organizations are planning to increase their external IT services spending, according to a recent survey from Gartner, Inc.

In July 2010 the average MFI interest rates on new deposits and loans showed mixed developments. Average MFI interest rates on outstanding amounts of deposits and loans remained basically unchanged.

In July 2010, compared with June 2010, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.1% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June retail trade rose by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.