Brussels, 01/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - For the first time on Friday, Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) published a new series of statistics to improve the understanding and analysis of economic agents' behaviour. The quarterly European sector accounts provide a comprehensive overview of the eurozone and the EU as single entities, and allow for a wide-ranging analysis of the interactions between households, non-financial corporations, financial corporations and government. The accounts also show interactions between the different institutional sectors, providing a “tool to strengthen eurozone governance”, Joaquin Almunia told the press.
During the fourth quarter of 2006, the seasonally adjusted gross saving rate of households was unchanged from the third quarter at 13.7% in the eurozone, the lowest level since the third quarter 2000. In the EU27, it was 11.0% in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared with 11.1% in the third quarter. The pattern was similar to that of the eurozone. This downward trend is not worrying, according to Commissioner Almunia, who sees it more as “good news”. It shows that “households are gaining confidence and increasing their consumption”, he said. At the same period, the savings rate was around 6% in the United States and 10% in Japan. Another pillar of growth, the investment rate of non-financial companies increased regularly during the last three years. This is also “good news” all the more as investment needs and saving are generally balanced showing that Europe does not contribute to global imbalances. The new statistics are available on: http: //http://www.ecb.int/stats/acc/html/index.en.html (ab)