Written by Millan Chauhan
The Office for National Statistics released the latest monthly GDP data for the UK, which saw the economy grow at +0.2% in September 2023, which equated to a third quarter GDP figure of 0.0%. September’s GDP reading was largely driven by services and construction growth, however, consumer-facing services fell.
Elsewhere in Europe, economic conditions continued to deteriorate as retail sales in the eurozone fell -0.3% in September, which marked the third consecutive month of negative sales growth. The figure was worse than expected, as consumer demand continues to be challenged by the effects of higher borrowing costs and input costs.
The global ratings agency, Moody’s, changed the outlook on US government debt from stable to negative since fiscal deficits remain large and borrowing costs on its debt have risen significantly. Meanwhile, the US stock market continued to perform well, as the NASDAQ 100 Index returned +4.4% last week in GBP terms, an index which is largely dominated by technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Microsoft is also now trading at all-time highs.
Looking ahead this week, there are numerous important economic data releases including the announcement of the US Inflation rate on Tuesday, with expectations leaning towards 3.3%, and the UK inflation rate on Wednesday, with expectations at 4.8%. On Friday, the eurozone area inflation rate will also be released, with expectations at 2.9%.
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