Economic and financial indicators

In "Economist.com":

China's economy is still growing rapidly, albeit at a less breakneck speed than it was last year. GDP rose by 10.6% in the year to the first quarter, according to a preliminary estimate, compared with a growth rate of 11.9% for 2007. Consumer-price inflation eased slightly to 8.3% in March, from an 11-year high of 8.7% in February. The central bank said it would raise the share of deposits that banks must keep as reserves from 15.5% to 16% from April 25th, to curb credit growth and help cool the economy.

In America consumer prices rose by 0.3% in March to leave them 4% higher than a year earlier. Excluding food and energy, prices rose by 0.2% in March and by 2.4% from a year earlier. The value of retail sales rose by 0.2% in March, following a 0.4% drop in February. Housing starts dropped by 11.9% in March to their lowest level for 17 years.

Consumer prices in Britain rose by 2.5% in the year to March, the same rate as in February and above the government's 2% target. The unemployment rate edged down to 5.2% in the three months to February; employment rose by 0.5% over the same period.

Consumer prices in the euro area rose by 3.6% in the year to March, revised up from a preliminary estimate of 3.5%. Industrial production rose for a second successive month in February, by 0.3%.

Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 11.75%, on April 16th.