Monday, March 14, 2011

The Fall of Greece: January 2011

Looking at the most recent OECD economic indicators, Greece makes by far the weakest showing in all the Eurozone as it continues to plod through difficult economic times.

Industrial production remains in severe contraction territory, consumer has fallen off a cliff, business confidence though trending up is clearly depressed and the leading index is turning down fast dropping 0.32% since December and 7.04% below the level seen in January 2010.

For February (more timely data), consumer confidence increased 0.53% from January but dropped 3.24% below the level seen in February 2010 while business confidence increased notably from January climbing 2.07% above the level seen in February 2010.

Industrial production remains weak but jumped 0.75% between November and December 2010 (much less timely data) remaining near the lowest levels seen since the late 1990s.