UK Inflation Rises Less Than Expected in July

Children play underneath a sprinkler at Parliament Square in London, Britain, August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Children play underneath a sprinkler at Parliament Square in London, Britain, August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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UK Inflation Rises Less Than Expected in July

Children play underneath a sprinkler at Parliament Square in London, Britain, August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Children play underneath a sprinkler at Parliament Square in London, Britain, August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

British consumer price inflation rose to 2.2% after two months at the Bank of England's 2% target, a slightly smaller increase than economists expected, and services inflation, closely watched by the BoE, slowed sharply, official data showed.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the annual headline CPI rate would rise to 2.3%.
Sterling fell sharply against the US dollar after the data was published on Wednesday.
When the BoE cut interest rates from a 16-year high of 5.25% at the start of this month, it said May and June's 2% inflation readings probably marked a low point for inflation.
The central bank expected CPI to rise to 2.4% in July and reach around 2.75% by the end of the year as the effect of sharp falls in energy prices in 2023 faded, before returning to 2% in the first half of 2026.
British inflation peaked at a 41-year high of 11.1% in October 2022 driven by a surge in energy and food prices after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as COVID-19 labor shortages and supply chain disruption.
The BoE remains relatively focused on longer-term inflation pressures, including services prices and wages as well as general labor market slack.
Wednesday's data showed that annual services price inflation fell to 5.2% in July from June's 5.7%, lower than the Reuters poll forecast of 5.5% and the lowest since June 2022. BoE staff had predicted a drop to 5.6%.
Official data on Tuesday showed that annual wage growth excluding bonuses slowed to its lowest in nearly two years at 5.4%, in line with economists' forecasts but still nearly double the rate the BoE sees as consistent with CPI staying at 2%.



GASTAT: Saudi Industrial Production Index Rose 1.6% in July

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data
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GASTAT: Saudi Industrial Production Index Rose 1.6% in July

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) in Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose by 1.6% in July this year compared to the same month in 2023.

The growth was attributed to heightened activity in the manufacturing industry, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activities, as well as water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities, GASTAT said in a bulletin on the results of IPI for July 2024.

The report also highlighted a 4.6% increase in the sub-index for manufacturing activity compared to July 2023. Conversely, the sub-index for mining and quarrying activities decreased by 0.8% in July 2024.

The sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activity showed a notable 8.2% increase, while the sub-index for water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities saw a growth of 1.1% over July 2023.

Data revealed a 1.1% decrease in the index for oil activities in July 2024, along with an 8.2% increase in non-oil activities, compared to the same period the previous year.
IPI is an economic indicator that tracks the development and relative changes in the volume of industrial production quantities. This data is derived from the Industrial Production Survey, conducted among a sample of industrial establishments involved in mining, manufacturing, electricity and gas supply, water supply, sanitation, waste management, and remediation activities.