Washington - Consumer confidence improved in the United States in August as a decline in the cost of petrol heartened consumers, a private survey released Tuesday said.

The New York-based Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 56.9 from 51.9 in July, as the US economy struggles to come out of a sharp slowdown stretching back to the last quarter of 2007.

Munich - The German business community's mood showed a surprisingly sharp downturn in August, the Ifo-Institut for economic research in Munich reported Tuesday.

Hanoi - Vietnam's inflation rate in hit 28.3 per cent year-on-year in August, the highest level in 17 years, local press reported Tuesday.

A report issued by the Government Statistics Office late Monday said the inflation rate rose by 1.56 per cent compared with the previous month, after falling from 2.2 per cent in June to 1.1 per cent in July.

The report said the skyrocketing rise in consumer prices was triggered by price increases in food, transportation, housing and construction. Food prices were up 44.15 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Singapore - Singapore's rate of inflation slowed to 6.5 per cent in July after three consecutive months at 7.5 per cent, reported The Strait Times Tuesday.

The paper quoted the Statistics Department as saying that during the first six months of this year, the overall consumer price index (CPI) for households in the bottom 20 per cent income bracket rose 7.4 per cent, while the national mean was 7.1 per cent and richer households 6.9 per cent.

Berlin - German economic confidence slipped again, two key surveys to be released Tuesday are forecast to show, amid worries about the outlook for Europe's biggest economy.

While analysts predict Germany's closely watched Ifo business confidence index edged down to 97.2 points in August from 97.8 points in July, consumer sentiment in the country also fell back again.

London - Britain's economy came to a standstill between April and June, with zero growth, prompting new fears of recession, British media reported Friday.

Official figures showed the worst second-quarter performance in 16 years.

Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) had originally estimated 0.2 per cent growth for the period.

The zero growth in the second quarter 2008, follows 63 consecutive quarters of growth since the second quarter of 1992.

Gross domestic product increased by 1.4 per cent meanwhile, compared to the previous year's 1.6 per cent growth.

Reports said the latest figures were expected to hike fears that Britain is heading into recession, about which economists have warned.