- The UK economy contracted last quarter for the first time since early 2021.
- In the US, consumer prices rose by less than forecast and suggested the Federal Reserve will be able to tone down its aggressive interest-rate hikes.
- China’s Covid-Zero policy and global recession concerns took a toll on the country’s two-way trade.
As the global economy continues its roller coaster ride, here are some of the charts on the latest developments in the global economy.
Europe
The UK economy shrank in the third quarter for the first time since the final lockdown of the pandemic as the cost-of-living crisis squeezed spending. Gross domestic product fell 0.2%, marking the start of what is expected to be a protracted recession. Britain is the only Group of Seven economy that has yet to fully recover from the pandemic.
The eurozone faces a grim winter as a recession bites just as double-digit inflation grips the region and war rages in Ukraine, according to the European Commission. Out of 15 euro-zone countries on which the Commission provided a quarterly forecast for GDP, every one of them is seen suffering at least one three-month period of contraction.
Nordic inflation developments worsened the risk of the region’s looming recession as consumer price growth in Norway and Denmark hit levels not seen in decades.
USA
Inflation cooled in October by more than forecast, offering hope that the fastest price increases in decades are ebbing and giving Fed officials room to slow down their steep interest-rate hikes.
Higher shelter costs contributed to more than half of the increase in overall CPI. If last year’s holiday shopping season was characterized by empty store shelves and a race to meet demand in a healthy US economy, very different concerns have emerged just 12 months later: overabundance and sinking sales.
Asia
China’s exports and imports both unexpectedly fell for the first time in more than two years, with rising risks of a recession causing overseas consumers to buy less and domestic problems including Covid Zero controls and a housing slump hitting demand at home.
Japan’s household spending increased in September for the first time in three months, showing some recovery despite growing concerns over inflation weighing on households’ spending power.
World
Romania’s central bank lifted its benchmark rate by half a percentage point, after three larger increases, to the highest since 2010. Serbia boosted borrowing costs for an eighth month, while Poland left rates unchanged.
The world’s second-biggest buyer of gold among central banks last quarter believes there’s hardly such a thing as too much bullion. Uzbekistan has brought the share of the precious metal in its $32 billion reserves to almost two-thirds, in a reversal of a plan to cut it below 50% by buying US and Chinese sovereign debt.
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Source: Bnnbloomberg
