UNITED KINGDOM
Unemployment drops
Unemployment fell unexpectedly to the lowest since 1974 as people dropped out of the workforce at a record rate. The government said that 3.5 percent of adults were looking for work in the three months through August, down from 3.6 percent the month before and a rate last lower in 1974. Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng hailed the figures as indicating strength in the UK. “The fundamentals of the UK economy remain resilient, with unemployment at its lowest point for almost 50 years,” Kwarteng said in a statement. Average earnings growth excluding bonuses accelerated to 5.4 percent, Office for National Statistics figures showed.
AUSTRALIA
Confidence near historic low
Consumer confidence is hovering around historic lows at the same time as business conditions strengthen, reinforcing a divide between households and corporates’ experiences in the economy. Westpac Banking Corp’s index of consumer sentiment slid to 83.7, highlighting that pessimists easily outweigh optimists with the divide at 100. Shortly after, National Australia Bank Ltd’s business conditions — measuring hiring, sales and profits — rose above their pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak. The contrast likely reflects policy lags, with the Reserve Bank of Australia hiking interest rates by 2.5 percentage points since May as it tries to rein in inflation.
AIRLINES
Region’s outlook improves
Passenger airline traffic in the Asia-Pacific region should recover to about 73 percent of 2019 levels by the end of the year as travel restrictions relax, up from 53 percent in August, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday. “There is no mistaking I think the momentum is very strong especially with all major markets in the Asia-Pacific now open except for China,” IATA Asia-Pacific vice president Philip Goh (吳仕綿) told reporters on a webinar. Taiwan’s border controls are to ease tomorrow. The year-end traffic estimate is based on China opening its borders soon, although the actual date remains unclear, Goh said.
AUTOMAKERS
NEV China sales rise
New-energy vehicle (NEV) sales in China retained their strong momentum last month, led by record sales from local automaker BYD Co (比亞迪) and US electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. Total NEV sales, which include pure-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, rose 83 percent from a year earlier to 611,000 units, China Passenger Car Association data released yesterday showed. BYD sold just over 200,000 vehicles for the first time, while Tesla delivered a record 83,135 vehicles after upgrading production capacity at its Shanghai factory. Overall passenger vehicle sales in China increased 21 percent from a year earlier to 1.95 million units last month, the association said.
TURKEY
Deficit enters 10th month
Turkey’s current account remained in deficit for a 10th consecutive month as the trade balance took a hit from a global rally in energy prices. The deficit widened to US$3.1 billion in August compared with a surplus of US$1.1 billion the same month a year earlier, Turkey’s central bank said yesterday. The shortfall for the first eight months of this year widened to US$39.7 billion. Tourism revenue was US$5.1 billion, with services posting a surplus of US$7.2 billion. Foreign tourist arrivals had risen by an annual 58 percent in August, a separate data release said.
ELECTRONICS BOOST: A predicted surge in exports would likely be driven by ICT products, exports of which have soared 84.7 percent from a year earlier, DBS said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 4 percent from 3 percent, citing robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports and accelerated shipment activity, which are expected to offset potential headwinds from US tariffs. “Our GDP growth forecast for 2025 is revised up to 4 percent from 3 percent to reflect front-loaded exports and strong AI demand,” Singapore-based DBS senior economist Ma Tieying (馬鐵英) said in an online briefing. Taiwan’s second-quarter performance beat expectations, with GDP growth likely surpassing 5 percent, driven by a 34.1 percent year-on-year increase in exports, Ma said, citing government
‘REMARKABLE SHOWING’: The economy likely grew 5 percent in the first half of the year, although it would likely taper off significantly, TIER economist Gordon Sun said The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) yesterday raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.02 percent, citing robust export-driven expansion in the first half that is likely to give way to a notable slowdown later in the year as the front-loading of global shipments fades. The revised projection marks an upward adjustment of 0.11 percentage points from April’s estimate, driven by a surge in exports and corporate inventory buildup ahead of possible US tariff hikes, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy likely grew more than 5 percent in the first six months
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market value closed above US$1 trillion for the first time in Taipei last week, with a raised sales forecast driven by robust artificial intelligence (AI) demand. TSMC saw its Taiwanese shares climb to a record high on Friday, a near 50 percent rise from an April low. That has made it the first Asian stock worth more than US$1 trillion, since PetroChina Co (中國石油天然氣) briefly reached the milestone in 2007. As investors turned calm after their aggressive buying on Friday, amid optimism over the chipmaker’s business outlook, TSMC lost 0.43 percent to close at NT$1,150
SMART MANUFACTURING: The company aims to have its production close to the market end, but attracting investment is still a challenge, the firm’s president said Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said its long-term global production plan would stay unchanged amid geopolitical and tariff policy uncertainties, citing its diversified global deployment. With operations in Taiwan, Thailand, China, India, Europe and the US, Delta follows a “produce at the market end” strategy and bases its production on customer demand, with major site plans unchanged, Delta president Simon Chang (張訓海) said on the sidelines of a company event yesterday. Thailand would remain Delta’s second headquarters, as stated in its first-quarter earnings conference, with its plant there adopting a full smart manufacturing system, Chang said. Thailand is the firm’s second-largest overseas
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