HOME>NEWS CENTER>The 4th Board of Directors of IFF (2018-2023)
IFF Newsletter Issue 94
TIME：2023-09-22
From the Editor
China kept its benchmark rates unchanged on Wednesday as the economy shows signs of stabilising. China’s industrial output rose 4.5% in August from last year, up from July’s growth of 3.7%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Retail sales picked up momentum in August after falling for three consecutive months.
In a stark warning, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said on Wednesday humanity has opened the gates to hell as he gathered world leaders for a high-level summit on the climate crisis. The US Federal Reserve held interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. UK inflation dipped to 6.7% in August,down from July’s 6.8%. And the Bank of England kept interest rates steady in its latest policy meeting. Japan posted a trade deficit of $6.3 billion in August as shipment to China and other Asian countries fell steeply.
China keeps benchmark rates unchanged
China kept its benchmark rates unchanged on Wednesday.
The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.45%, while the five-year LPR stayed at 4.2%.
The LPR is a market-based benchmark while the five-year LPR influences the pricing of mortgages.
China’s home prices drop further in August
More cities saw home prices drop in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
New home prices in the four biggest Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, fell 0.2% month-on-month while new home prices in third-tier cities fell 0.4%.
Prices for existing home prices also fell in August with prices in second- and third-tier cities falling 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.
Existing home prices fell 1.6%, 3% and 3.5% in China’s first-, second- and third-tier cities respectively year-on-year.
In the 12 months to August, new home prices edged up in first- and second-tier cities while prices in third-tier cities fell 1.4%.
China August industrial output rises 4.5%
China’s industrial output rose 4.5% in August from last year, up from July’s growth of 3.7%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Industrial output rose 3.9% in January to August from the same period last year.
The output of state-owned enterprises rose 5.2% while that of private firms rose 3.4%.
The output of solar panels rose 77.8% while that of power units grew 32.4%.
Retail sales picked up momentum in August in China after falling for three consecutive months, official data showed.
Retail sales grew 4.6% in August from last year, up from 2.5% in July.
Sales in the first eight months grew 7%.
Retail sales in China’s countryside grew 6.3% while urban sales went up 4.4%.
China’s fixed investment rose 3.2% in the January-August period from the same period last year.
Investment in infrastructure construction grew 6.4% year-on-year while that in manufacturing expanded 5.9%.
Capital flowing into the property sector fell 8.8% in the first eight months.
Investment in high-tech industries grew 11.3% in the period.
Service production in China rose 6.8% in August from last year, up from 5.7% in July, official data showed.
Accommodation and catering rose 16.1% year on year.
The sub-index tracking the output of the information transmission, software and IT services climbed 11.5 percent, while that for financial services expanded 7.2 percent.
The index measuring business activity in the service sector came in at 50.5 in August. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.
Newsletter
International News
The US Federal Reserve held interest rate unchanged on Wednesday.
The Fed announced that its federal funds would remain in a range of 5.25 - 5.5%. The rate fixes what banks charge each other for overnight lending.
Speaking at a news conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed is getting closer to the end of its rate-hiking cycle and that a soft landing seems plausible.
UK inflation dipped to 6.7% in August,down from July’s 6.8%, official data showed on Wednesday.
The consumer prices index rose 0.3% on a monthly basis in August.
Core inflation, which exclude volatile food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, rose 6.2% in the 12 months to August, down from July’s 6.9%.
In a stark warning, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said on Wednesday humanity has opened the gates to hell as he gathered world leaders for a high-level summit on the climate crisis.
“Horrendous heat is having horrendous effects”, the UN chief said as a broad global coalition of “movers and doers” politicians, business and civil society gathered in New York for the first ever Climate Ambition Summit.
Guterres said the climate action was dwarfed by the scale of the challenge.
“We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all,” he said.
The global economy is to expand 3% this year, according to the latest forecast from the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD), up from 2.7% in its June outlook.
The Paris-based organisation said on Tuesday that the global economy proved more resilient than expected in the first half and 2023, but the growth outlook remains weak.
The OECD now projects global economy will expand 2.7% in 2024, down from its previous estimate of 2.9%.
Despite falling inflation, core inflation remains persistent, which will be the main drag on the global economy, the organisation said.
Japan posted a trade deficit of $6.3 billion in August as shipment to China and other Asian countries fell steeply.
Japan’s exports fell 0.8% while imports shrank 17.8%, preliminary data from the Japanese Finance Ministry showed on Wednesday.
Shipments to China dropped 11% while exports to Asian markets fell 8.8%.
The Bank of England has kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, the first pause after 14 straight increases.
Interest rates were held at 5.25%, the highest level since 2008.
Bank governor Andrew Bailey said: “Inflation has fallen a lot in recent months, and we think it will continue to do so.”
The Bank said there were increasing signs of some impact of tighter monetary policy on the labour market and momentum in the real economy more generally.
