Friday 26 October 2012

UK economy returns to growth, US growth improves

The UK economy rebounded in the third quarter, thanks to the Olympics.

The Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that the economy grew 1.0 percent after having shrunk 0.4 percent in the second quarter. The statistics office estimated that Olympics ticket sales accounted for a fifth of the increase while economists estimate that a rebound from the output lost due to an extra holiday in June to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee added another 0.5 percentage points.

US economic data on Thursday were mixed.

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index rose to 0.00 in September from -1.17 in August. The index’s three-month moving average increased to -0.37 in September from -0.53 in August.

A report from the Commerce Department showed that durable goods orders jumped 9.9 percent in September, the biggest gain in more than two and a half years, after having plunged 13.1 percent in August, the largest decline in three years.

A surge in aircraft orders drove the increase in September. Excluding transportation, new orders for durable goods rose 2.0 percent in September. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft were flat.

Another report on Thursday showed that pending home sales in the US rose 0.3 percent in September after having declined 2.6 percent in August.

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