The prices of goods leaving UK factory gates rose at their fastest in 14 months in the year to February and at more than double their average rate than over the past decade, according to official figures published on Friday.

The Office of National Statistics reported that manufactured output prices as measured by its producer price index rose by 4.1% in the year to February, up 0.3% points from an inflation rate of 3.8% in January.

That is the highest rate since December 2008 – a time when prices were levelling off following a surge in commodity prices early in the year and as the global recession accelerated. In the past ten years, output prices have averaged just below 2% annual inflation. Cutting out volatile elements like food, alcohol and petrol products, the index rose by 2.9% in the year to last month, up from 2.6% in January.

In Europe, German factory orders rose more than expected in January, reversing a decline in December, as domestic orders rebounded strongly, official data showed Friday.
According to data released by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Germany’s factory orders increased 4.3% month-on-month in January. Economists had forecast just 1.3% rise. The latest increase follows a decline of 1.6% in December, revised from a 2.3% fall reported initially.

In the US, the unemployment rate held steady last month as employers cut fewer jobs than expected, according to official data today that bolstered hopes that the worst of the downturn in the world’s largest economy is over.

Data from the US labor department showed that 36,000 jobs were cut in February and that the jobless rate held at 9.7%. That was a stronger result for the US labour market than economists had been expecting. The consensus forecast was for the closely watched non-farm payrolls
report to show a loss of 50,000 jobs in February and for the jobless rate to edge up to 9.8%, according to a Reuters poll.

Some forecasters had warned that the report could be even worse, given the harsh weather last month. But the labour department said the effect of the winter storms was not clear. US nonfarm payrolls fell by 36,000 in February from 26,000 in January while the unemployment
rate held steady 9.7%.

The consensus among analysts was that around 30,000 more jobs would be shed in February with the unemployment rate ticking up to 9.8%.

January’s nonfarm payrolls were revised downwards to 26,000 from 20,000.

In related data, average hourly earnings grew by 0.1% in February compared to 0.2% in January in monthly terms. Year-over-year, average hourly earnings grew 1.9% in February compared to 2.0% in January.

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