Kaohoon Morning Brief – 16 September 2021

1) U.K. inflation jumps to 9-year high

U.K. inflation jumped to a nine-year high in August and at a faster pace with consumer prices rising 3.2%, compared to the same period last year and after a 2% rise in July. The 1.2 percentage point increase is the sharpest for U.K. since the Office for National Statistics first took record in 1997.

 

2) Japanese firms expect to return to pre-Covid level in 2022

A majority of Japanese firms say the country will recover to pre-pandemic levels in fiscal 2022 with many anticipating they will continue to face the impact of Covid-19 until next year or later.

 

3) Australia to form an alliance with the US and UK to counter China

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday will announce the formation of an alliance with the U.S. and the UK for technology development in a move to counter China.

 

4) UN expects 2021 world GDP to grow 5.3%

The UN expects the world economy in 2021 will grow at the fastest pace in almost 50 years with an expansion of 5.3% in response to vaccines and stimulus policy. In addition, GDP growth may slow down to 3.6% in 2022.

 

5) U.S. crude inventories drop to two-year low

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week by 6.4 million barrels to 417.4 million barrels. The drawdown beat analysts’ expectations for a drop of 3.5 million barrel and also the lowest level since September 2019.