(RTTNews) - Monday, the week started with a coordinated action by central banks, the latest in a string of joint measures to tackle the fast spreading global financial market crisis.

Under the operation, again led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and involving four leading world central banks, European central banks will offer unlimited dollar funds at a fixed interest rate. The Fed increased the sizes of the swap lines with these banks. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are part of the effort. The BoJ said it will be considering the introduction of similar measures.

On the data front, UK’s output price inflation and the Swiss producer and import price inflation slowed more than expected in September.

Eurozone

The French current account deficit widened to EUR4.2 billion in August from EUR3.6 billion in July, the Bank of France reported. Economists were looking for a deficit of EUR4 billion for August.

Luxembourg’s statistical office STATEC said the gross domestic product or GDP grew by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% sequentially in the second quarter compared with a 0.1% growth in the first quarter. On a yearly basis, the GDP growth for the second quarter was 2.8% compared with a revised growth of 1.2% in the previous quarter. Initially, the GDP growth was reported as 2.5% for the first quarter.

The results of the Labor Force Survey announced by the General Secretariat of National Statistical Service of Greece said the jobless rate declined to 7% in July from 7.8% recorded in the year-ago period.

Rest of Europe

The Office for National Statistics or ONS reported that UK output price inflation eased for the second consecutive month to an 8.5% year-on-year rate in September compared to 9.1% in August. Economists had projected the annual growth to slow to 8.8% in September. The core output price inflation that excludes food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum eased to 5.4% in September from 5.6% in August.

Further, input price inflation stood at 24.5% annually in September, down from a revised rate of 28.8% for the previous month. Input price inflation stood above the 19.8% rate expected by economists.

Andrew Sentance, the Monetary Policy Committee member of the Bank of England said, it now seems more likely than not that UK will see a fall in GDP for third and fourth quarters of 2008. Sentance added, “We can now be much more confident than we were a few months ago that inflation will come back to 2% target over medium term”.

The Swiss producer and import prices rose 3.7% year-on-year in September, slower than the 4% rise seen in the previous month, the Federal Statistical Office said. Economists had expected annual growth to ease to 3.9% in September.

A preliminary report by Macedonia’s State Statistical Office said the industrial producer prices increased 14.5% year-on-year in September. The increase was largely due to a 22.8% jump in energy prices.

The Bank of Estonia said the current account deficit narrowed 17% to EEK 6.5 billion in the second quarter from a deficit of EEK 7.9 billion in the first quarter. In the second quarter of last year, the deficit totaled EEK 9.5 billion. The current account deficit was 10% of the second quarter GDP.

Data from the Czech National Bank showed that the current account deficit widened to CZK 12.17 billion in August from CZK 0.31 billion in July. The August deficit was higher than the analysts’ expectation of CZK 12 billion.

The National Bank of Romania revealed in a report that the current account deficit stood at EUR10.006 billion in the January to August period, widening from the EUR9.85 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year. The widening in the current account gap was attributed to a higher trade deficit. The foreign direct investment comprised 65% of the current account deficit.

The National Bank of Poland revealed in a report that the current account deficit widened to EUR 1.74 billion in August from a EUR 1.05 billion in the previous month. A year ago, the current account deficit was EUR762 million. Economists had predicted a deficit of EUR1.26 billion.

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