Recent Economic and Monetary Trends

This review covers the period from mid-May to mid-September 2007

Global economic growth remained strong despite more moderate growth in the USA, and the recovery has been broadly based across the major industrialised and emerging market economies. In July, the problems in the US subprime mortgage market intensified, and the turmoil spread to the global financial markets. A reduced risk appetite in the market led to significant drops in stock prices and lower yields on gilt-edged securities such as government bonds, whereas higher-risk bonds saw higher yields. In the first part of September the markets were characterised by considerable turmoil. The cyclical situation has not changed materially in the last few months, but the situation in the USA seems more uncertain, with a less positive economic outlook.

The strong boom in the Danish economy has now lasted for four years, and the labour market is under substantial pressure. Employment is high and rising, and unemployment is at the lowest level since the early 1970s. Capacity utilisation is at a very high level, and economic growth is being curbed by a shortage of labour. Accelerating wage increases and surging imports point to overheating of the economy. Growth in domestic demand, including private consumption, has declined, but remains robust and outperforms growth in production possibilities. Exports have increased against the background of rising demand from Denmark's trading partners.

INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS

In July, prices of oil and other commodities rose to record-high levels in the wake of strong global demand and limited excess capacity. The oil price peaked at just under 80 dollars per barrel (Brent), but subsequently receded to around 76 dollars per barrel in early September. Food prices are rising due to short supply, bad weather and, to some extent, increasing use of crops for biofuel.

Concerns about who will ultimately bear the losses on the US subprime loans caused stock prices to fall from mid-July, after having risen constantly for almost four months, cf. Chart 1. Volatility in the financial markets also increased. Traded volatility in the stock market – calculated on the basis of the prices of stock options – was higher in July and August than during the periods of stock-market turmoil in February 2007 and in May-June 2006. However, it was considerably lower than during the turmoil in 2001-02. The pricing of risk was subject to general revaluation, leading to a flight to safety. Consequently, yields on gilt-edged government securities fell, while yields and yield spreads on private bonds with low credit ratings increased substantially, cf. Box 1.

The lower yields on government bonds followed a period of increases, cf. Chart 2. Yields in the euro area had risen in response to improved growth prospects in Germany and expectations of further monetary-policy tightening. In the USA, inflation developments led to expectations of less expansionary monetary policy than previously assumed. When the yields subsequently fell, the spread between long-term yields in the USA and Germany narrowed only slightly, reflecting that investors have also turned to European government bonds during the turmoil in the financial markets. Particularly German government bonds have been in higher demand, and consequently yields have fallen more in Germany than in other European markets.

The turmoil in the financial markets over the summer also affected the foreign-exchange markets. The weakening of the dollar vis-à-vis the euro was briefly interrupted in July. By mid-September, the exchange rate was 1.38 dollars per euro, equivalent to the level in mid-July and approximately 5 per cent weaker than at the turn of the year. Other side-effects have been a strengthening of the Japanese yen and to some extent also the Swiss franc, combined with considerable weakening of high-interest currencies such as the Icelandic krona and the New Zealand and Australian dollars in connection with the unwinding of carry-trade positions, cf. Chart 3.^[1]

US SUBPRIME MORTGAGES1	Box 1
Recently there have been many reports of issuers and investors – in the USA and elsewhere – who have suffered losses due to the development in the market for US subprime mortgages. Yields on subprime bonds have soared, and in July rating agencies chose to lower the ratings of bonds issued to finance subprime mortgages. As the flow of news concerning losses to issuers and investors on US subprime mortgages intensified over the summer, the impact spread to more creditworthy securities issued on the basis of mortgages and other credit products. The credit spreads, i.e. the yield spreads between bonds entailing a certain credit risk and gilt-edged government bonds, have generally widened worldwide. The yield spreads between US corporate bonds at all rating levels and government securities have thus widened, but nonetheless remain lower than during most of the period since 1997, cf. Chart 4.
US CREDIT SPREADS FOR SELECTED RATINGS	Chart 4
Note: The credit spread is calculated as the difference between the yield to maturity on corporate bonds with the relevant rating and the yield to maturity on government bonds. The most recent observations are from 7 September 2007. Source: Bloomberg and Merrill Lynch.
The problem of subprime delinquency is most prevalent for adjustable-rate mortgages since homeowners have been affected by rising interest rates. The delinquency rate for adjustable-rate US subprime mortgages has recently risen to around 17 per cent. Credit institutions have tightened the conditions for subprime loans in response to the rising delinquency rate. For normal prime mortgages the delinquency rate has risen less, to just under 3 per cent. In 2006, the subprime market accounted for some 15 per cent of the total outstanding volume of US mortgages. Around half of the subprime mortgages were adjustable-rate mortgages, equivalent to an outstanding value of approximately 750 billion dollars or almost 6 per cent of GDP. Delinquent subprime loans total just over 125 billion dollars. Around half of the subprime mortgages are financed via the issuance of securities, and the losses in connection with delinquent subprime mortgages have mainly affected investors in these securities. The total potential losses to investors are estimated to be 100-200 billion dollars. Diversification of credit risk by issuing securities has, on the one hand, boosted the resilience of the US financial sector.2 On the other hand, financing subprime mortgages via securities has made it more difficult to identify where the subprime risk is held. This has contributed to the increased uncertainty in the financial markets. On 9 August 2007, the overnight money-market interest rate in the euro area rose to around 4.6 per cent during the day, i.e. considerably higher than the ECB's minimum bid rate of 4 per cent. The background to the increase was a greater restraint among banks in exchanging liquidity in the interbank money market due to the general uncertainty in the financial markets in the wake of the subprime crisis. In order to ensure a smoothly functioning money market, the ECB chose to conduct fine-tuning operations and provide liquidity to the banking system via overnight loans against securities as collateral on 9, 10, 13 and 14 August and 6 September. The ECB normally uses fine-tuning operations to smooth interest-rate fluctuations, especially those resulting from unexpected liquidity fluctuations. On 23 August and 12 September the ECB conducted supplementary longer-term refinancing operations, with a maturity of 3 months, with a view to normalising conditions in the money market. In connection with the extraordinary supply of liquidity, the ECB stated that in some respects the widening of credit spreads can be interpreted as a normalisation of the pricing of risk.3 On 10 August 2007, the Federal Reserve issued a press release stating that depository institutions could experience unusual funding needs, and against that background the Federal Reserve provided liquidity on a scale not seen since September 2001. To promote the restoration of orderly conditions in financial markets, the Federal Reserve on 17 August 2007 reduced the discount rate (primary credit rate) by 50 basis points to 5.75 per cent. This is the lending rate on the Federal Reserve's marginal credit facility, the discount window, a seldom used safety valve in the US money market to alleviate liquidity strains in the banking system. The Federal Reserve primarily provides liquidity via open market operations that influence the overnight interbank rate, the federal funds rate. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy is expressed as a federal funds target rate, currently 5.25 per cent. A number of other central banks also provided extraordinary liquidity in connection with the money-market turmoil.
1  For further elaboration, see the article Turmoil in the Financial Markets in this issue of the Monetary Review, as well as Box 1 in Danmarks Nationalbank, Monetary Review, 2nd Quarter 2007. 2  Cf. IMF (2007), United States: Staff report for the 2007 Article IV consultation – Selected Issues, and John Kiff and Paul Mills (2007), Lessons from subprime turbulence, IMF Survey Magazine in IMF Research, 23 August. 3  Cf. Statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, 14 August 2007.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

USA
The housing market is increasingly responsible for the dampening of economic growth in the USA, cf. Chart 5, whereas the development outside the housing market has been robust. Overall GDP growth was moderate in the 1st half of 2007 with quarterly growth rates of 0.2 per cent and 1.0 per cent in the 1st and 2nd quarters, respectively. Growth was primarily driven by exports, non-residential construction and public consumption in the 2nd quarter, while growth in private consumption was more subdued, possibly due to stagnating house prices and the steadily rising energy prices in the spring. Private consumption has, however, been remarkably sound for some time in spite of the weak housing market.

Indicators of business and consumer confidence are still favourable. Both declined a little over the summer, but business confidence, expressed as ISM for the manufacturing sector, remains positive.

Employment has been rising at more or less the same rate as the labour force for some time, so that unemployment has remained unchanged at around 4.5 per cent. Recently employment growth has, however, declined somewhat, and in August employment fell a little. Unemployment was 4.6 per cent in July and August, i.e. slightly higher than in the preceding months. Wages are still rising by about 4 per cent p.a., but the immediate inflationary pressure has subsided. Consumer prices were 2.4 per cent higher in July than in the same month of 2006; if energy and food are excluded the increase was 2.2 per cent.

At its meetings in June and August the Federal Reserve maintained the fed funds target rate at 5.25 per cent, which has been the level since June 2006. The press releases referred to a trade-off between sustained high inflation, e.g. due to high capacity utilisation, and moderate growth prospects. In the weeks after the FOMC meeting in August, turmoil in the financial markets increased, and on 17 August the Federal Reserve Board approved a reduction of the primary credit rate by 50 basis points to 5.75 per cent, cf. also Box 1. This is an interest rate on a marginal credit facility that is seldom exercised.

Europe
The euro area is enjoying a robust upswing. Quarterly GDP growth was 0.3 per cent in the 2nd quarter, compared with growth rates of between 0.5 and 1 per cent in the preceding quarters. The slowdown in growth in the 2nd quarter is primarily driven by investments, but should also be viewed in the context of the extraordinarily high investment growth in the 1st quarter, reflecting factors such as a high level of building activity during the mild winter. Investments are generally supported by high capacity utilisation, cf. Chart 6. Following a weak development at the beginning of the year, private consumption picked up in the 2nd quarter, indicating that the German VAT increase at the turn of the year had only a temporary dampening effect on consumption. Foreign trade also made a positive contribution to growth in the 2nd quarter.

The German economy continues to strengthen, giving business enterprises a greater incentive to invest and employ more people. This is mainly reflected in an improved labour market, with unemployment falling to 9 per cent in August, the lowest level since the summer of 1993.

The euro area labour markets are generally showing positive trends. In July, unemployment was down to 6.9 per cent of the labour force, and wage increases remained subdued. Inflation, represented by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, HICP, was 1.8 per cent in August (flash estimate), and has thus met the ECB's medium-term target of inflation " below, but close to 2 per cent" since the autumn of 2006.

In the euro area – not least Germany – confidence indicators point to optimism among consumers and in the business sector. During the spring and summer many indicators fell back a little, but the level remains high. The Purchasing Managers' Index, PMI, for the euro area manufacturing sector was just over 54 in August, compared with 56.5 at the turn of the year, and thus still on the positive side of the neutral level of 50. The order intake in manufacturing industry decreased a little for the euro area overall in the 2nd quarter, following two years' strong increase, but continued to rise in Germany over the summer.

Citing a favourable economic outlook and continued upside risks to price stability, the ECB in June raised its minimum bid rate by 25 basis points, to 4 per cent. Subsequently the ECB kept its interest rates unchanged. At the press conference after the meeting of the Governing Council on 6 September, the ECB stated that its monetary policy stance was still on the accommodative side, but given the uncertainty in the financial markets it was appropriate to gather additional information and to examine new data before drawing further conclusions for monetary policy. 

The economies of the UK, Sweden and Norway are still booming, with increasing capacity pressures in manufacturing industry and on the labour market. Inflation rates in Sweden and Norway remain somewhat below target, but mounting inflationary pressures call for a tightening of monetary policy.

Asia
The Japanese economy is still in an upswing, even though GDP grew by only 0.1 per cent in the 2nd quarter of 2007, compared with 0.8 per cent in the 1st quarter. Unemployment is low, but wage increases remain moderate, and inflation is negative. Consequently, the Bank of Japan is cautious in its endeavours to normalise its expansionary monetary policy. The official interest rate has remained at 0.5 per cent since the increase in February.

According to recent IMF estimates, China will be the greatest contributor to growth in the global economy in 2007. GDP growth in the 2nd quarter was close to 12 per cent compared with the same quarter of 2006, primarily reflecting strong growth in exports and investments. The gradual liberalisation of the financial markets continues, and since August Chinese investors have been able to purchase Hong Kong stocks. In the same month, the People's Bank of China raised its official interest rates in response to mounting inflationary pressure. Inflation, which has otherwise been moderate, rose to 6.5 per cent in August, primarily due to higher food prices. Effective 21 May, the daily fluctuation band of the renminbi vis-à-vis the dollar was widened from ± 0.3 to ± 0.5 per cent.^[2]

In India, economic growth is also high with annual rates of just under 10 per cent. The upswing is fuelled by domestic demand, and both investments and consumption have boomed. Imports are also increasing strongly and exceed exports. Unlike China, India has seen growing trade and current-account deficits in recent years. High inflation and strong credit growth also indicate that the Indian economy is reaching its capacity limit. Against this background, the Reserve Bank of India has gradually raised its official interest rates so that the repo rate was 7.75 per cent in early September. In the year to September, the rupee appreciated by 8 per cent against the dollar, a development that should be seen in the light of the announcement by the Reserve Bank of India in April that future monetary policy will focus more on price stability and less on exchange-rate management and economic growth.

DANISH MONETARY AND FOREIGN-EXCHANGE CONDITIONS

The Danish krone has been stable vis-à-vis the euro at a level slightly stronger than its central rate in ERM II. Since mid-May the maturity-adjusted yield spread between Danish and German 10-year government bonds has on balance fluctuated between 5 and 15 basis points, having been around zero in the spring. The widening of the yield spread might reflect factors such as the falling long-term yields in Germany compared with Denmark and other European countries. A slight strengthening of the Danish krone in June coincided with a net capital inflow from portfolio investments, reflecting Danish investors' net sales of foreign stocks and non-residents' net purchases of Danish bonds. In June and July, Danmarks Nationalbank intervened in the foreign-exchange market in order to stabilise the krone, purchasing foreign exchange for a total of kr. 12.2 billion. In August Danmarks Nationalbank's net purchases of foreign exchange amounted to kr. 9.8 billion, of which kr. 4 billion was due to intervention, while the rest was primarily attributable to proceeds from the central government's disposal of shares in the shipping company Scandlines. At end-August the foreign-exchange reserve was kr. 194.1 billion.

Cyprus and Malta will join the euro area on 1 January 2008. This was decided at the meeting of the Ecofin Council on 10 July 2007. The euro will replace the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira at exchange rates corresponding to their central rates in ERM II.^[3] From the turn of the year, Cyprus and Malta will therefore no longer participate in ERM II. The conditions for the remaining ERM II currencies, including the Danish krone, remain unchanged.

In June, Danmarks Nationalbank followed the ECB and raised the lending rate and the rate of interest on certificates of deposit by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent, effective as of 7 June 2007. The discount and current-account rates were also raised by 25 basis points to 4 per cent. The increases had been anticipated in the market, and were reflected in the money-market interest rates prior to the actual announcements. 

On 3 May 2007, the standard maturity of Danmarks Nationalbank's monetary-policy loans and certificates of deposit was reduced from 14 to 7 days in order to curb the large fluctuations in the day-to-day money market interest rate that were previously often observed up to an expected adjustment of interest rates.^[4] The transition was smooth and there were no major fluctuations in the day-to-day money-market interest rate around the time that the official interest rates were raised in June, cf. Chart 7.

The international financial turmoil has not had any significant impact on the willingness of Danish banks to lend kroner to each other at the short end of the money market, and it has not been necessary for Danmarks Nationalbank to conduct extraordinary open market operations in that connection. Money-market interest rates in the euro area, on the other hand, were influenced by the uncertainty in the financial markets, and the spread between the very short uncollateralised money-market interest rates in Denmark and the euro area narrowed considerably in mid-August and early September, cf. Chart 8 (left). The ECB has repeatedly provided extra liquidity to the banking sector, cf. Box 1, and, except for the above two episodes, the short-term interest-rate spread has been more or less the same as before the onset of the financial turmoil. The slightly longer uncollateralised money-market interest rates in Denmark have risen since early August, but somewhat less than the corresponding money-market interest rates in the euro area, cf. Chart 8 (right). The increasing uncollateralised money-market interest rates in the euro area reflect, among other things, restraint on the part of the banks in lending to each other on an uncollateralised basis in the slightly longer maturities. There were indications of a similar tendency in the Danish money market and forward foreign-exchange market.

On 1 July 2007 the Act on Covered Bonds (SDOs) came into force.^[5] Banks and mortgage-credit institutes can pledge Danish government and mortgage-credit bonds, etc. as collateral for loans from Danmarks Nationalbank. Since 2 July 2007, Danmarks Nationalbank has also accepted covered bonds issued by institutions subject to the Financial Business Act or by Danish Ship Finance as collateral.^[6] The first covered mortgage-credit bonds (SDROs) were issued in July, while no SDOs had been issued by end-August.

Growth in lending to households has been high, but declining since the spring of 2006. In July lending was 11 per cent higher than in the same month of 2006. Growth in business lending has also declined since early 2007, but remains at a high level of around 15 per cent year-on-year. This matches the normal financing pattern, where growth in business lending typically increases and subsequently declines later in the business cycle than growth in lending to households.^[7]

As the spread between short and long-term interest rates has narrowed, adjustable-rate loans as a ratio of the mortgage-credit institutes' new lending for owner-occupied housing has declined from 47 per cent in July 2006 to 27 per cent in July 2007, cf. Chart 9. Deferred-amortisation loans continue to gain ground, rising from 30 per cent of outstanding mortgage-credit loans in July 2006 to 36 per cent in July 2007.

THE DANISH ECONOMY

Economic activity, foreign trade and balance of payments
Over the last year, private consumption has risen at a more moderate pace than earlier on in the upswing. Nevertheless, consumption growth remains solid, and according to preliminary national accounts data consumption was 1.4 per cent higher in the 1st half of 2007 than in the same period of 2006. The slowdown in growth can be seen as a return to a more normal situation after a period of particularly high growth rates.

Rising interest rates and a more subdued housing market have contributed to the slower growth in consumption. According to the Association of Danish Mortgage Banks' property price statistics for the 2nd quarter, prices of single-family and terraced houses have been more or less unchanged in 2007 so far, while prices of owner-occupied flats have weakened somewhat. There are, however, major regional differences. In parts of the Greater Copenhagen area prices have shown a pronounced downward trend since the turn of the year, while they have continued to rise in other parts of Denmark. Prices have mainly fallen in the areas that previously saw the strongest increases. The more sluggish housing market is also reflected in few realised sales, a large supply of housing for sale and longer " for sale" periods.

Growth in retail sales has slowed down and total volumes have more or less moved sideways in 2007 so far. Sales of passenger cars peaked in mid-2006 and are now at a lower, but still high level. In the spring, the market was subject to uncertainty regarding the impact of changes in registration fees, but sales have subsequently picked up a little. Consumer confidence fell back in August, possibly in response to the financial turmoil in the wake of the US subprime crisis. Nevertheless, consumers remain optimistic, particularly in their assessments of their own current and future financial position.

In general, the financial position of the households is very sound. Unemployment is low and there are prospects of further increases in real wages in the coming years. The aggregate household sector has accumulated considerable wealth during the upswing so far. Looking ahead, this will buoy up private consumption. 

Business investments have increased substantially in recent years and have so far remained high in 2007. In the 1st half-year, business investments were 5.6 per cent higher than the corresponding 2006 level. Investments in machinery and equipment, etc. have increased markedly, and non-residential construction has picked up strongly from a low level. Business investments usually respond to economic upswings with a certain lag, and the favourable development reflects factors such as sound corporate earnings and high capacity utilisation. Enterprises are also seeking to make up for the shortage of labour by increasing the capital stock. Residential investments were also high, mainly due to the completion of previously initiated projects. The slowdown in the housing market is expected to have a dampening impact on new construction, but the statistical evidence in this area is lagging behind.

Domestic demand has thus risen at a more measured pace in 2007, but demand is high, and growth remains sound. Domestic demand, excluding stockbuilding, grew by 2.8 per cent in the 1st half of 2007 compared with the same period in 2006. This was somewhat above the GDP growth rate, cf. Chart 10. Exports and imports have both risen in 2007, with imports showing the strongest increase, while total net exports made a negative contribution to growth in the 1st half-year. An underlying factor was the shortage of labour, which limited the opportunities for business enterprises to expand production. Hence, a considerable part of the higher demand had to be met by increased imports.

The upward trend in imports has had a negative impact on the balance of trade. In the first seven months of 2007, the trade surplus excluding ships, etc. was kr. 11.6 billion compared with kr. 26.6 billion in the same period of 2006. Imports of both consumer goods and goods for use in the business sector have increased. Falling energy exports, resulting partly from lower energy prices, contributed to reducing the surplus, while industrial exports showed a sound increase.

The current-account surplus was down to kr. 9.4 billion in the first seven months of 2007, approximately kr. 14 billion lower than in the same period of 2006. The surplus also diminished from 2005 to 2006. This reflects a deterioration of the balance of goods and services, while net interest and dividend income rose a little. The falling current-account surplus is basically attributable to Denmark being further into the business cycle than its trading partners.

Labour market
The rise in employment has continued into 2007. According to data from Statistics Denmark compiled on the basis of payments to ATP (Labour Market Supplementary Pension), there were almost 26,000 more people in full-time employment in the 2nd quarter of 2007 than in the 4th quarter of 2006, equivalent to an increase by just over 1 per cent. The improvement was broadly based across the private sector, while public-sector employment remained virtually unchanged. Over the last year, private-sector employment has grown strongly, particularly in building and construction and services, but manufacturing employment has also picked up, after having declined for some years.

Unemployment has also fallen further. In July, seasonally adjusted unemployment was 90,500, or almost 18,000 lower on a full-time basis than at the turn of the year. Unemployment is now down to 3.3 per cent of the labour force, the lowest level since the early 1970s. Together with the Netherlands, Denmark has the lowest unemployment rate among the EU member states.

Owing to the significant pressure on the labour market, many business enterprises in manufacturing industry and the building and construction sector report that the shortage of labour is curbing production, cf. Chart 11. The share of manufacturing enterprises that cannot attract the labour they require now exceeds the level in the mid-1980s, when overheating of the economy triggered large wage and price increases. This reduced Denmark's competitiveness and led to an economic slowdown and rising unemployment. The percentage of manufacturing enterprises with insufficient production capacity is higher than at any time since 1980, cf. Chart 11. The number of vacancies indicates that the labour market is not likely to cool down in the near future. The National Labour Market Authority conducted a survey of the recruitment situation in the spring of 2007 and estimates that at national level business enterprises were unable to fill 58,000 positions over a 2-month period^[8].

Capacity pressures in the economy are often measured by the output gap, i.e. the difference between the current level of activity and the activity that is compatible with normal capacity utilisation and stable wage and price developments, cf. Box 2. A positive output gap indicates a risk of accelerating wage and price increases. The output gap is calculated by the Ministry of Finance, among others, and according to the calculations the output gap was positive in 2006. The Ministry also estimates that the gap will widen in 2007. The calculations are subject to uncertainty as regards assessments of the current cyclical position, but the Ministry's results are well in line with the other indicators of capacity pressure, cf. above.

THE OUTPUT GAP AS AN INDICATOR OF CAPACITY PRESSURES	Box 2
The output gap is an indicator of pressures on production resources in the economy. In a situation with high unemployment and plenty of spare production capacity, the gap is negative. In contrast, a positive gap indicates that there are few spare resources in the economy and that capacity utilisation is high. The output gap is calculated as the difference between the actual gross domestic product, GDP, and GDP on normal utilisation of production resources, corresponding to stable wage and price development. The latter is referred to as the potential GDP. This gap cannot be observed and must be calculated on the basis of assumptions and estimates. The size of potential GDP, and thus the output gap, is therefore subject to uncertainty. The calculation of potential GDP includes estimates of factors such as how much unemployment can fall before wages or prices accelerate at a pace that is unsustainable for the economy. The estimate for recent years is particularly uncertain, e.g. because wages and prices typically react to changes in unemployment and capacity pressures with a lag. The uncertainty related to the size of the output gap is reflected in diverging calculations of the Danish output gap from different organisations, cf. Chart 12. The divergences may reflect, for example, whether the calculations focus on wage or price increases. More generally, it is also of significance whether the calculation is based purely on statistics, or whether knowledge of e.g. collective agreements and local wage agreements is also taken into account. The output gap usually changes when the national accounts are revised.
OUTPUT GAPS FOR DENMARK	Chart 12
Source: OECD, Economic Outlook 81, May 2007, Ministry of Finance, Economic Survey, August 2007, and the European Commission's spring forecast 2007.
The revisions and uncertainty are always greatest for the most recent years. The output gap is thus a better measure of the historical capacity pressures in the economy than those currently prevalent. Consequently, an assessment of the current cyclical position cannot be based on the output gap alone, but must also include other measures of capacity pressure, e.g. indicators of labour shortage and capacity utilisation.

The influx of foreign labour has continued into 2007. The number of active work permits issued to persons from the new EU member states in Eastern Europe is rising sharply and was approximately 12,500 in July, nearly 5,000 more than one year earlier. A corresponding increase has been registered in the number of commuters from Sweden and Germany. In recent years, foreign labour has helped to boost the labour force in a situation where demographic trends point to fewer people of working age. This has made a significant contribution to limiting capacity pressures in the Danish economy.

Wages and prices
A higher rate of wage increase reflects the tight labour market. According to Statistics Denmark, hourly wages (earnings) in the private sector were 3.7 per cent higher in the 2nd quarter than in the same quarter of 2006, cf. Chart 13. The rate of wage increase was thus approximately 0.5 percentage points higher than in the 1st quarter. Wage developments were particularly strong in the building and construction sector, where hourly wages rose by 4.7 per cent. In manufacturing industry, the rate of wage increase was somewhat lower, but this partly reflects the fact that many local wage negotiations had not been completed when the statistics were collected. The statistics for wage increases in manufacturing industry are thus on the low side of the underlying wage development contained in the collective agreements signed in the spring^[9] and the local wage negotiations at enterprise level. Data from the Confederation of Danish Industries shows that local wage adjustments in 2007 are significantly higher than in previous years.

The higher rate of wage increase is not matched by corresponding growth in labour productivity. According to preliminary national accounts data, growth in employment in the private non-agricultural sector has exceeded output growth in the last year, resulting in falling labour productivity, cf. Chart 14. The data is subject to uncertainty and frequent revisions. The recorded decline in productivity may, however, be attributable to the rapid increase in employment, with many new employees requiring on-the-job training. In addition, population groups that have previously had little affiliation to the labour market are now in employment. Labour productivity has also declined for the economy as a whole. If this trend does not reverse, business enterprises will soon face a serious cost squeeze.

The rapid wage development exerts pressure on the international competitiveness of Danish business enterprises. In recent years, wages in manufacturing industry have increased somewhat more in Denmark than in the euro area and Denmark's trading partners taken as one. The gap has widened recently, as Danish wage increases have accelerated while those of the euro area have been more subdued. According to a survey by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, hourly wage costs in manufacturing industry were 25 per higher than in the euro area in 2006.

There seem to be strong expectations of pronounced wage increases in the public sector in connection with the collective bargaining next spring. If these expectations are wholly or partly met, this may rub off on the private sector. The risk that a wage spiral is triggered in the current boom gives cause for concern. As stated above, the Danish wage level is already high, and if wage developments outpace those of Denmark's competitors, there is a substantial risk of a prolonged period with higher unemployment.

In spite of the strong cyclical upturn and the strong wage development, consumer prices have been stable. The year-on-year increase in the EU's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, HICP, was 0.9 per cent in August. The low rate of inflation was to some extent attributable to a modest contribution from external factors, since energy prices were lower than in August 2006 and import price increases were low. In addition, food price inflation has slowed down in recent months. This trend will presumably be short-lived, since poor harvests in large parts of the world and rising global demand for food, driven by factors such as economic growth in China and increased use of crops for biofuel, point to higher world market prices for food. Another reason for the subdued price development so far is the moderate domestic inflationary pressure, given the position in the economic cycle. Domestic market-determined inflation, IMI, which measures the development in domestic wages and profits, has, however, risen almost constantly since the turn of the year, and IMI was 1.7 per cent year-on-year in August.

The strong cyclical position is reflected in selling prices in manufacturing industry, which rose by 2.7 per cent year-on-year in July. A particularly strong trend was seen in intermediate goods, with prices 4.9 per cent above the 2006 level. Higher prices for intermediates entail higher costs for later links in the production chain, and viewed in isolation this exerts upward pressure on overall prices. In the first part of 2007, costs of residential construction were 6.6 per cent higher than one year before, and price increases have gained considerable momentum since the beginning of 2006, particularly with respect to the costs of materials.

Government finances
The government surplus was kr. 76 billion in 2006, equivalent to 4.7 per cent of GDP, which was virtually unchanged compared with 2005. The considerable government surpluses in recent years are to some extent attributable to favourable economic developments, as well as extraordinarily high income from taxation of e.g. pension yields and North Sea oil and gas activities. Obviously, these contributions are of a temporary nature. In its Economic Survey from August 2007, the Ministry of Finance estimates that around half of the surplus in 2006 was attributable to cyclical developments and other temporary effects. In 2005, these contributions were even larger.

In constant prices, public consumption in the 1st half of 2007 was 1.8 per cent higher than in the same period of 2006. This is somewhat above the level of growth in public consumption for the whole of 2006, and also considerably higher than the government's target of 1.0 per cent in the 2007 Finance Bill. The Finance Bill 2008 operates with growth of 1.7 per cent in public consumption, which is significantly higher than previous years' targets. For a number of years, growth in public consumption has exceeded government targets, cf. Chart 15, and this should be taken into account when assessing the fiscal policy for the coming years.

On 3 September 2007, the Danish government concluded an agreement with the Danish People's Party on restructuring of various direct and indirect taxes for an amount totalling almost kr. 10 billion. Under the agreement, income tax is eased by raising the personal allowance and employment allowance, as well as the middle tax bracket threshold. The labour-market contribution is maintained at 8 per cent, and in future energy taxes will be indexed to the general level of price development. On balance, taxation will be eased from 2007 to 2008, which means that the current Finance Bill already holds out prospects for an easing of overall fiscal policy next year.

Denmark is currently at the top of a cyclical upswing with substantial capacity pressures, and this situation is expected to continue in the coming years, cf. the article The Danish Economy 2007-09. Interest-rate conditions must be deemed to be more or less neutral. It is therefore risky to have set the stage for an expansionary fiscal policy in 2008. There are already indications of rising inflation, and the upswing may be derailed by stronger wage and price increases, which in the longer term will invariably lead to an unnecessary rise in unemployment. This risk increases with the prospect of expansionary fiscal policy in 2008.

The government's 2015 plan
In August, the government tabled its 2015 plan, outlining the economic targets for the period until 2015, cf. Box 3. The plan replaces the 2010 plan, which was originally launched in January 2001. Even though it can be difficult to meet the targets, medium-term projections are useful tools in economic policy management, e.g. by enabling timely identification and addressing of challenges. The key challenge for the Danish economy, now and in the future, is to ensure an adequate labour supply of the right composition. The labour market is already very tight and demographic trends point to a lower percentage of people of working age in the coming years. This will add to the pressures on the labour market. The welfare agreement from June 2006 helps to counter this problem, primarily by raising the ages for qualifying for early retirement benefits and state pensions, respectively, but this will have only a limited effect on the labour force during the period until 2020. If the ambitious and important target of the 2015 plan of an increase in structural (cyclically adjusted) employment is to be realised, then further initiatives will be required in relation to the labour market, including the attraction of foreign labour.