Rachel Reeves, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, was dealt another blow ahead of next week’s Autumn Budget as UK GDP slowed in September and weakened over the third quarter.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed economic activity contracted 0.1% in September, missing expectations for a flat reading after August was revised lower to show no growth. Over Q3, GDP rose just 0.1%, two-tenths weaker than in Q2 and below analysts’ forecasts for 0.2%. 

Summarising the latest output figures, Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Growth slowed further in the third quarter of the year with both services and construction weaker than in the previous period. There was also a further contraction in production.” (LS – Continue Reading) 

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he didn’t support the US central bank’s last interest-rate cut, though he’s still undecided on the best course of action for its December policy meeting.

“The anecdotal evidence and the data we got just implied to me underlying resilience in economic activity, more than I had expected,” Kashkari said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg News. That, he said, argued for a pause to rate cuts at the Fed’s October meeting. (BBG – Continue Reading) 

China’s economic growth momentum slowed in October, weighed down by a high base from the previous year when Beijing rolled out stimulus measures to support a cooling economy, according to official data released on Friday.

Industrial production rose 4.9% in October compared to a year earlier, a decline from the 6.5% increase in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected industrial output to grow 5.5% year-over-year in October. 

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer activity, increased by 2.9% from a year earlier in October. This was a slight decline from the 3.0% rise in September but still surpassed the 2.7% growth forecast by economists. (WSJ – Continue Reading) 

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that a joint fact sheet outlining trade and security terms agreed with the US has been finalized, marking the formal conclusion of months of negotiations.

“The trade negotiations and security consultations between South Korea and the US — one of the most critical variables for our economy and national security — have been officially concluded,” Lee told reporters in a briefing Friday. (BBG – Continue Reading)