Geopolitical tensions and attacks in the Red Sea have increased since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have focused their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on any merchant shipping that they believe is affiliated with Israel. Following this weekend’s four attacks on three civilian ships near Yemen, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney responded, thrusting the security of trade into the spotlight.
The Outlook projects global GDP growth of 2.9% in 2023, followed by a mild slowdown to 2.7% in 2024 and a slight improvement to 3.0% in 2025. Asia is expected to continue to account for the bulk of global growth in 2024-25, as it has in 2023.
Consumer price inflation is expected to continue to ease gradually back towards central bank targets in most economies by 2025, as cost pressures moderate. Consumer price inflation in OECD countries is expected to decline from 7.0% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025.
The World Bank will allocate $5 billion to deliver “reliable, affordable, renewable electricity” to 100 million Africans by the end of the decade, the president of the development lender announced Wednesday.
The World Bank estimates that around 600 million people in Africa do not currently have access to reliable electricity, a key factor hampering job creation and economic development on the continent.
To meet its new objective to alleviate poverty on a “livable planet,” Ajay Banga said the World Bank must find ways to connect more people to a greener energy grid.
Headline inflation stalled to 4.1% year-on-year, down sharply from 4.9% YoY in October. From the previous month, prices were up only 0.2%. Food inflation, which was the main culprit for the recent spike to 6.1% in September, slid to 5.7% YoY (from 7% previously).
Last month’s downside surprises in South Korea mainly came from food and gasoline prices. Inflation will likely return to the 2% range by early next year when the Bank of Korea’s concerns about inflation will likely drift away and the market begins to price in rate cuts
BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) – China’s exports rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, while imports decreased 0.6%, customs data showed on Thursday.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a 1.1% decline in exports and a 3.3% increase in imports.
Contrasting manufacturing activity data for November kept alive calls for further policy support measures to shore up growth, but prompted analysts to question whether predominantly negative sentiment-based surveys were keeping up with recent hard data and early signs of improvement in global trade flows.
Indonesia palm oil production for 2023/24 is revised down slightly to 45.8 million metric tons (MMT) due to lower yields from El Nino-induced dryness. Soybean consumption for 2022/23 is revised down on slower demand from the food sector. Reduced use of soybean meal in 2022/23 is driven by weak feed mill performance, mainly on higher production costs.
From the humble beginnings of importing around a dozen Spanish merino sheep from South Africa in 1797, nine years after Great Britain colonized Australia, the country has become a world powerhouse wool and sheep meat producer and exporter. Australia now produces around 323,000 metric tons (MT) of wool and 730,000 MT carcass weight equivalent (CWE) meat. Annually, the country exports all the wool produced, and about 70 percent of sheep meat, and around 525,000 head of live sheep. The overall value of Australian sheep industry exports is US$5.5 billion. The wool sector was by far the most important since the sheep industry was established in Australia until 2019 when it was surpassed by the value of sheep meat production. In 2022, sheep meat exports were US$3.2 billion and US$2.3 billion for wool. In addition, the value of live sheep exports was far less at US$57 million.
