- Gerry Rice, a spokesman for the IMF
Greece fell in its financial abyss after the bailout programme, which had been supporting the economy for five years, expired at midnight Tuesday and the country missed its crucial 1.6 billion euro loan repayment to the IMF, reigniting fears over whether it will be able to remain in the currency bloc. Greece became the first developed country to fall into arrears on payments to the fund joining such countries as Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
Inflation across the 19-country currency bloc slid on year in June to 0.2% from 0.3% a month earlier. The decline in consumer prices was primarily caused by a 5.1% decline in energy prices. Despite the fall, June marks the third month in a row that the Euro zone's inflation has remained positive. In a separate release Eurostat said the unemployment rate in the Euro bloc remained unchanged at 11.1% in May. Meanwhile, in Germany, the Euro zone's number one economy, the number of people out of work dropped by 1,000 in June. The jobless rate remained at 6.4%, the lowest level since the country's reunification. In addition to that, German shoppers spent more lavishly in May compared with the previous month. Measured on a monthly basis, retail sales increased 0.5% in real terms in May compared with a 0.3% rise expected by economists. However, in annual terms, the indicator declined 0.4% in the reported month after the 1.1% surge in the previous month.
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