Helping to provide clarity
UK unemployment fell to its lowest level since January 1975 in the three months to October this year. The number of people out of work fell by 13,000 to 1.281 million, Office for National Statistics figures show.
The employment rate rose to an all-time high of 76.2%, with an increase of 24,000 taking the number of people in work up to a total of 32.8 million.
Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in almost 3 years. The new energy price gap has led to a drop in gas and electricity prices. The consumer prices index came in at 1.5 per cent in October, from 1.7 per cent the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics.
UK house prices fell by 0.1 per cent last month taking growth over the year to only 0.9 per cent, according to the latest monthly survey of the property market by Halifax. The slowdown means that prices rose at their slowest annualised rate this year and the cost of an average house this month stands at £232,249, the Halifax said.
| The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of manufacturing activity fell last month to its lowest since June 2009, when the economy was just emerging from the Great Recession. It now stands at 47.8, which is below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. |
The FED has cut rates by 0.25% to 1.75%-2%. The ECB cut its deposit rate by 0.1% to a negative 0.5% and restarted QE at €20bn per month. Now it’s the turn of the governments to step up to the plate.
Increased Brexit uncertainty and escalating global trade tensions knocked British manufacturers in August. The purchasing managers’ index fell to 47.4 from 48 in July, its lowest reading since July 2012.
Wage growth has risen to 3.7%, buoyed by surprise second-quarter jobs growth. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the level of employment rose to a record 32.81 million between April and June with 115,000 jobs created.
Today the Chinese yuan (CNY) finally broke through to the downside to the psychologically important level of 7.0 to the US dollar. 7.0 was a clear line in the sand defended by monetary authorities in Beijing since late 2016. While we are not currency experts, we would not be surprised to see the yuan weaken further now that 7.0 has finally been breached.
The US has announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia, effective from the 26th August. These restrictions represent the 2nd round of sanctions in line with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act). The announced sanctions include US opposition to the financial or technical assistance to Russia provided by international financial institutions, restrictions to exports of dual-use chemical and biological items and, most importantly: the prohibition of US financial institutions to participate in FX-denominated financing of the Russian government.
President Trump has revealed plans to intensify his trade war with China by imposing tariffs on another $300 billion of its exports. Oil prices fell after the latest escalation in the dispute between the world’s two largest economies.