Sat, Jul 03, 2021 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  UNITED STATES

  IMF raises GDP tip

  The IMF on Thursday raised its GDP growth projection for this year to 7.0 percent from a 4.6 percent forecast issued in April, due to unprecedented fiscal and monetary support. The IMF, in its annual “Article IV” assessment of the nation’s economic policies, said that the revised forecast represents the fastest pace of growth in a generation. It raised its GDP growth forecast for next year to 4.9 percent, up from its previous 3.5 percent April forecast. The new forecasts assume that the Congress will pass infrastructure, social spending and tax plans known as the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan this year at a similar size and composition to their original proposals, the IMF said. “Indicators suggest significant labor market slack remains, which should serve as a safety valve to dampen underlying wage and price pressures,” the IMF said in its review statement.

  AUTOMAKERS

  US sales jump

  Automakers on Thursday reported huge jumps in second-quarter US sales, but face a challenging summer as a global semiconductor shortage continues to plague the industry. General Motors Co (GM) and Toyota Motor Corp had impressive increases compared with the same quarter last year, when large parts of the US economy remained under tight COVID-19 restrictions. GM said that US sales soared 40 percent this spring to 688,236 units. “The US economy is accelerating, consumer spending is robust and jobs are plentiful,” GM lead economist Elaine Buckberg said. “Consumer demand for vehicles is also strong, but constrained by very tight inventories. We expect continued high demand in the second half of this year and into 2022.” Toyota scored a 73 percent increase in US auto sales to 688,813 compared with the second quarter. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive said that GM and Toyota have low inventories of popular models, prompting some consumers to defer purchases because they could not find what they wanted, or were put off by elevated prices.

  REAL ESTATE

  China’s outlook downgraded

  Morgan Stanley on Thursday downgraded its outlook on China’s property sector amid risks that policymakers might take steps to cool down the overheated market and further prompt developers to cut their debt levels. The US brokerage lowered its recommendation on the real-estate sector China to “in-line” from “attractive” in a note published. Strong sales continue and land sales “haven’t cooled off yet, therefore policy risk is still to the downside,” analysts led by Elly Chen (陳鐸) wrote.

  SOUTH KOREA

  Pace of inflation eases

  The pace of inflation slowed for the first time in six months, according to data that supports the Bank of Korea’s view of recent price pressures as temporary. Consumer prices rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 2.6 percent pace in May, data from Statistics Korea showed yesterday. Economists had expected the pace would decelerate only to 2.5 percent. The slowdown adds support to the central bank’s argument that recent price data have been boosted by comparison with last year’s dismal figures and some inflationary pressures are likely to fade going forward. The Bank of Korea said it expects inflation to fluctuate around its 2 percent target for the rest of the year before sliding lower next year.
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