Index

Bulgaria's construction sector index of production in August was 1.6% below its level in the previous month, according to the national statistics preliminary data.

In August 2014, the working day adjusted data showed a decrease by 0.3% in the construction production, compared to the same month of 2013.

According to preliminary data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI), the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 0.9% on the month in August 2014.

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Greece’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell last month to its lowest point this year, hitting 48.4 points – below the zero-change point of 50 points – according to Markit, which compiles the index.

Bulgaria's producer price index saw a decrease by 0.1% in August compared to the previous month, according to the country's National Statistical Institute, NSI.

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The material costs index in the construction of new residential buildings decreased by 2.9 percent in August 2014, compared to the same month the previous year, according to figures released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, ELSTAT, on Tuesday.

The index in August 2013 had recorded a decrease of 1.8 percent compared to August 2012.

By Jonathan Cable

Eurozone private business growth slowed more than expected this month, despite widespread price cutting, as manufacturing and service industry activity both dwindled, a survey showed on Thursday.

In June, the index of production in the construction sector, calculated on the base of seasonally adjusted data, was 0.1% above the level of the previous month.

According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute, in June 2014 there was an increase by 5.6% in the construction production, compared to the same month of 2013.

The return to growth of the manufacturing sector proved short-lived, as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to a nine-month low in July to 48.7 points, against 49.4 points in June, according to Markit Economics.

The positive signs in the market continue to point to a return to economic growth this year, with the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announcing on Wednesday a 1.1 percent increase in its Producer Price Index for June, compared with a year earlier, following a 0.6 percent increase in May.

Consumer confidence in Greece improved by two index points in the second quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year, reaching 55 points, though still significantly below the global average of 97 points, the latest Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending has found.