- The U.K. Grows More Than Expected In June
- China Publishes a Five Year Plan for Regulations
- White House To Call On OPEC To Increase Oil Production
The U.K. Grows More Than Expected In June
UK economy grew more than analyst forecasts in June.
The economy grew by 1% during this period, according to data from the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics. In the previous month, this rate was 0.6%. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 0.8 percent.
Thus, in the second quarter of this year, the economy grew by 4.8 percent, close to the Bank of England’s 5 percent target.
Deputy national statistician for economic statistics Jonathan Athow said: “The U.K. economy has continued to rebound strongly, with hospitality benefiting from the first full month of indoor dining, while the reopening of many services boosted spending on advertising.”
The huge services sector grew by 1.5% in June from May, with health activities contributing the most to growth as visits to G.P.s increased in June while food and beverage services jumped by more than 10%.
Industrial output shrank by 0.7%, as maintenance of oil field production sites and a swing in the volatile pharmaceutical industry dragged on the sector, but manufacturing grew by 0.2%. Construction output fell by 1.3%.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I know there are still challenges to overcome, but I feel confident in the strength of the U.K. economy and the resilience of the British people.”
China Publishes a Five Year Plan for Regulations
China has published a 5-year draft plan for new regulations that will affect a large part of the economy and many sectors.
Announcing its five-year plan to “strengthen the rule of law,” China signaled that new regulations would be introduced in many sectors.
The plan, announced Wednesday by the State Council and the Communist Party Central Committee, envisages the “active” work of the authorities in regulating national security, technology, and monopolies.
Enforcement of laws will be strengthened in many sectors, from food to pharmaceuticals, from big data to artificial intelligence. Recently, China has opened investigations against its giant global companies.
Cybersecurity assessments regarding foreign public offerings followed the monopoly investigation launched against Alibaba. Shares in many Chinese companies listed in the US, Hong Kong, and mainland China have fallen sharply this year as investors’ concerns grow over the crackdown.
In April, technology giant Alibaba accepted a record $2.8bn (£2bn) fine after investigating that it had abused its dominant market position for years.
Last month, Tencent was told to end exclusive music licensing deals with record labels around the world.
Also, in July, some of the country’s biggest online platforms – Kuaishou, Tencent’s messaging tool Q.Q., Alibaba’s Taobao, and Weibo – were ordered to remove inappropriate child-related content.
White House To Call on OPEC To Increase Oil Production
The White House is encouraging OPEC and its oil-producing partners to increase production to offset rising fuel costs, citing concerns that growing inflation could slow the recovery from Covid.
The Biden administration thinks that the gradual increase in production, taken by OPEC+ at the last meeting, is insufficient due to the rising fuel prices.
According to the news of CNBC, it was recorded that the price of gasoline per gallon in the USA increased by 1 dollar in the last year to $3.186. It was stated that the Biden administration also requested research on pump prices from regulators in the country.
“We are engaging with relevant OPEC+ members on the importance of competitive markets in setting prices,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in the statement obtained by CNBC. “Competitive energy markets will ensure reliable and stable energy supplies, and OPEC+ must do more to support the recovery.”
The report states that executives from Biden’s team met with Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the issue this week. It was noted that the administration drew attention to the discomfort created by high oil prices at a critical time for global recovery.
The Biden administration is also calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “monitor the U.S. gasoline market” and “address any illegal conduct that might be contributing to price increases for consumers at the pump.”
