(RTTNews) - Wednesday, Eurozone industrial new orders unexpectedly fell in May after recording robust increase in April. Consumer spending in France decreased in June. The minutes of the latest rate-setting session of Bank of England showed that the Monetary Policy Committee split three ways in July.

Eurozone

A report from the Eurostat showed that industrial new orders decreased 4.4% year-on-year in May, reversing a revised 12.3% increase recorded in April. Economists had expected an increase of 3.2% for May. On a monthly basis, industrial new orders fell 3.5% in May, faster than a 1% fall predicted and in contrast to a revised 2% growth in the previous month.

According to French statistical office INSEE, consumer spending in Eurozone’s second largest economy fell 0.4% month-on-month in June, reversing a revised growth of 1.7% in May. However, households’ consumption dropped less than the 0.6% decline expected. Compared to prior year, the spending growth slowed to 1%, while economists were looking for 1.4% rise.

In Spain, industrial producer prices increased at a faster pace than the expected in June as prices for petroleum refining rose significantly. The latest report from the National Statistics Institute showed that the producer price index, or PPI, rose 9% year-on-year in June, quicker than 7.9% increase recorded in May. Economists had expected an increase of 8.4%. On a monthly basis, the PPI growth edged down to 1.1% in June from 1.2% in the month before.

The Italian statistical office ISTAT said in its report that retail sales increased 0.5% in May, reversing a 2.3% fall in April. The increase was in contrast to a 0.4% fall expected. On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted retail sales grew 0.2% versus a revised growth of 0.1% in the month before. Economists had expected retail sales to edge down 0.1%.

The Statistical office of Malta revealed that the retail price index increased 4.04% year-over-year in June, faster than 3.75% acceleration in May. On a monthly basis, the retail price index climbed 0.36% in June, after a 0.44% increase in May.

Rest of Europe

The minutes of the Bank of England MPC session held on July 9 and 10 revealed that seven policymakers voted in favor to maintain the base rate at 5% in July and two members voted against. The central bank held the base rate unchanged for the third month in a row after a 25 basis point cut in April, the third since December 2007.

Out of the two members opposing the proposition, Tim Besley called for a quarter point hike, while David Blanchflower sought a 25 basis point cut. A similar three-way split in the MPC was last seen in May 2006.

The British Bankers’ Association reported that UK’s mortgage approvals for house purchases declined to a new record low of 21,118 in June. According to BBA, approvals declined 66.9% from the previous year. In May, mortgage approvals totaled 27,499.

UK manufacturers’ total order book balance declined to minus 8% in July compared with plus 1% in May, the latest Industrial Trends Survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry, or CBI revealed. The index still stood considerably above the long-term average of minus 15%. The survey found that expectations for manufacturing activity in the coming quarter are less favorable, with a balance of minus 7% for output and minus 21% for domestic orders.

The Statistics Iceland announced that the country’s wage index increased 8.5% year-over-year in June, compared to 7.9% in prior month. On a monthly basis, the wage index rose 1.2% in June, faster than the 0.4% logged in the previous month.

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