- Jens Kramer, an economist at NordLB
A bunch of mixed economic data from Germany was published on Thursday, as situation in the labour market improved, while inflation slowed notably. German consumer prices remained flat this month, compared with July, when they rose 0.5%, while analysts' projected a 0.2% gain for August. The annual inflation rate fell to 1.5% in August, down from 1.9% a month earlier, moving away from the European Central Bank's target of 2%.
The Federal Labor Agency said the number of people out of work in Europe's largest economy climbed 7,000 to a total figure of 2.95 million in August, beating analysts' expectations for a 5,000 decline, and this month's figure is much weaker than July's 7,000 drop. However, the adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8%, hovering around a two-decade low. Meanwhile, in raw or unadjusted terms the labour market is performing even worse- as total number of jobless people soared by 31,000 to 2.946. Soon after the report, German officials claimed that figures from the labour market are lagging economic indicators and are about six months behind the real economic situation.
Additionally, German plant and machinery orders plummeted 3% in July from a year ago, suggesting the recovery is still very fragile.
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