Closing summary
Time to recap….
The UK economy made a faster recovery from the Covid pandemic than previously estimated, according to revisions to official data this morning.
Revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product was 1.8% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of the second quarter this year, stronger than Germany and France.
The changes mean the UK economy is no longer the worst performer in the G7.
Growth in January-March was also revised up, to +0.3% from a previous estimate of 0.1%.
But the UK housing market is cooling, with mortgage approvals falling in August to their lowest level in six months.
The Bank of England said net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August and were down by a third from the same month last year.
It was the lowest number of home loans approved by lenders since February this year, and the latest sign that the 14 increases in UK interest rates since December 2021 have undermined the demand for homes.
Inflation in the eurozone has dropped to a two-year low…
… as has the core PCE measure of US price changes.
The pound is on track for its worst month against the US dollar in a year – down 3.8%, or almost 5 cents, at $1.219 this afternoon.
UK households have been warned that energy bills could climb to an average of almost £1,900 a year in the coldest months of the year, under the UK government’s energy price cap scheme.
Severn Trent customers face a 37% jump in bills by the end of the decade, as the utility also raises £1bn in investment – half from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund – to pay for a multibillion investment plan to improve its water network over the next five years.
UK households are facing the biggest increase in taxes over a parliament in at least the last 70 years:
But partners at Deloitte will be cushioned by rising incomes, with the average pay for more than 640 equity partners in the UK rising to £1.1m this year.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office is investigating financial transactions allegedly involving the French billionaire Bernard Arnault and a Russian businessman.
A week of disruption for rail passengers has begun, with a mix of strikes and overtime bans by train drivers and tube workers set to halt and delay many services until next Friday.
And Netflix is sending its final DVDs to American customers today
Have a lovely weekend, we’ll be back on Monday… GW
One final piece of economic news to wrap up the week…. and US consumer confidence has improved slightly this month.
However, Americans remain unsure about the future of the economy, with risks of a US government shutdown this weekend.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index has risen to 68.1 from 67.7 earlier in the month, although still lower than August’s 69.5.
The consumer sentiment index edged 4 tenths higher from mid-month to end September at a decidedly dismal 68.1, down from August's 69.5. pic.twitter.com/8dzVD7FDwa
— Econoday, Inc. (@Econoday) September 29, 2023
Surveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu explains:
A small decline in consumer expectations over their personal finances was offset by a modest improvement in expected business conditions. Consumers are understandably unsure about the trajectory of the economy given multiple sources of uncertainty, for example over the possible shutdown of the federal government and labor disputes in the auto industry. Until more information emerges about these developments, though, consumers have reserved judgement on whether economic conditions have materially changed from the past few months.
Year-ahead inflation expectations moderated from 3.5% last month to 3.2% this month. The current reading is the lowest since March 2021 and is above the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years prior to the pandemic.
