34. Euro-Zone Prices May Heat Up Soon

Higher energy costs, euro's weakness could spur consumer-level inflation

FRANKFURT - Data from Germany and Italy point to a slight slowdown in euro-zone inflation in October, but given recent renewed increases in energy costs and the continued weakness of the euro, consumer prices are poised to rise again in November.

German consumer prices rose an annu­al 2.3% in October, down from a six-year high of 2.5% the previous month, according to a preliminary government report Tues­day. In Italy, the annual rate was 2.5%, down from 2.6% in September.

Along with the inflation news came a report from France showing that con­sumers cut their spending in September, adding to worries that rising oil prices will dent domestic demand and damp growth in the euro zone. French house­holds reduced spending by 1.2%, surpris­ing forecasters, who had expected a rise after a 1.8% decline in August.

On a more positive note, industrial pro­duction for the euro zone expanded at a ro­bust annual pace of 6.3% in August, com­pared with 5.4% in July. This continued the rising trend over the past year. But economists warn the outlook for produc­tion is less rosy - a number of surveys show businesses are less optimistic about the future.

The slowdown in consumer-price infla­tion in October was the result of a brief dip in energy prices, which had surged in Sep­tember. But oil prices have begun to rise again, and the euro continues to trade close to all-time lows. A weak euro makes imports more expensive for consumers in Europe.

The European Central Bank is worried that workers will demand wage increases to compensate for higher prices sparked by surging fuel costs and a weak currency. This would lead to even higher inflation - and more interest-rate increases, bitter medicine for an economy that already has shown signs of slowing. The ECB has raised interest rates seven times in the past year to counter inflation risks.

On Tuesday, Germany's six leading economic institutes forecast German growth would slow next year to 2.7% after 3% this year. European central bankers and politicians, who have also been trying to talk up the euro, still call Europe’s prospects the best in a decade.

Vocabulary:

consumer prices are poised to rise again – потребительские цены вот-вот вновь возрастут

Синонимы: be ready to rise; be about to rise; be set to rise; be prepared to rise

rising oil prices will dent domestic demand – рост цен на нефть приведет к сокращению внутреннего спроса

outlook - перспективы

TRANSLATION NOTES:

given recent renewed increases… - принимая во внимание (учитывая) недавнее новое увеличение… (См. часть Ш, раздел 3, § 6, п.6.4)

bitter medicine for an economy – «горькая» пилюля для экономики – факторы, отрицательно сказывающиеся на экономике

35. Rise In Orders Fails to Lift Economy Gloom

US durable goods orders rebounded last month, but the recovery was not enough to eclipse December’s sharp plunge and failed to convince financial markets that any sustained economic recovery was under way.

The Department of Commerce said durable goods orders rose 1.5% in January to $119.6bn, following a 5.1 % drop in December.

New orders for industrial machinery and equipment gained strongly, climbing 6.3% to $21bn.

Orders for transportation equipment rose by 1.2% to $29.4bn – helped especially by the aircraft sector, while electrical and electronic goods orders fell 4.9% to $17.4bn, after four consecutive months on the rise.

The rebound in durable goods orders exceeded private sector economists’ forecasts. However, in conjunction with the previous month’s marked decline it provided no conclusive evidence of an economic upturn.

Meanwhile, markets remained dazed by Tuesday’s dramatic plunge in consumer confidence.

The Conference Board, a New York-based business consultancy, announced then that its consumer confidence index had fallen for the fifth month in succession – to its lowest level.

If the volatile defence sector is excluded, durable goods orders showed a stronger gain in January, rising 3.6%

However, economists noted that the backlog of unfilled orders fell by 0.3% in January to a level 3.7% lower than a year ago.

This has undermined hopes that a recovery could be spurred by industrial orders in the pipeline.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

it provided no conclusive evidence… - это не давало никаких оснований…; ничто не говорило о…; ничто не подтверждало…

Местоимение no, являясь определением к существительному evidence переводится как никаких, ни одного. Двойное отрицание, которое не соответствует нормам английской грамматики, вполне допустимо в русском языке.

VOCABULARY CHECK

1. Все рынки подвержены циклическим колебаниям и проходят идентичные стадии развития.

2. Ситуация, когда падение курса акций принимает неуправляемый характер, называется «свободным падением».

3. Резкое падение цен на акции приводит к значительным убыткам биржевых торговцев и огромному числу банкротств.

4. «Мыльный пузырь» - это ситуация на бирже, когда цены на акции необоснованно завышены.

5. Коррекция – обратное движение цены финансового инструмента, товара, индекса (обычно в сторону понижения).