The UK's output per hour worked declined 0.8% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter, following a revised 1.1% gain in the prior three-month period, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.
On a yearly basis, output per hour worked rose 0.7%, against the revised 2.1% increase previously.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is exploring ways to modernize the country's outdated retail payments system, which handles an annual payments volume of around NZ$2 trillion, the central bank said Tuesday.Given that scale, even small efficiency improvements can boost national productivity, improve the global competitiveness of local businesses, and strengthen the country's economic resilience, said Assistant Governor Karen Silk.The central bank has created two workstreams to pursue the modernization. The first of them will examine the technical requirements needed to update infrastructure, while the second one will focus on reforming strategic leadership, regulatory coordination, and system governance across the system."Key strategic questions include whether to continue pursuing incremental reform or to undertake structural modernization of the underlying payments infrastructure to build long-term capability and strengthen resilience," the RBNZ said.The central bank is seeking feedback on the issues it has identified through a consultation period that runs until Oct. 27.
China's production of steel fell in July amid weak demand and a slowdown in the construction industry.Crude steel output fell 3.6% year on year to 76.9 million tons during the month, according to Monday data from the National Bureau of Statistics.Between January and July, steel output slipped 3.1% to approximately 577 million tons.The data shows that the steel industry is on track to log the lowest annual total in a decade, according to a Bloomberg News report.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 1.5 points to 76.5 in the week of Aug. 17 to 23, taking confidence to its highest level in 24 weeks, ANZ Research reported Tuesday.The four-week moving average rose 0.2 points to 74.4 points, per the report.The pick-up in confidence was driven by an improvement in householders' confidence in their financial situation, especially over the next year, according to ANZ economist Madeline Dunk. On a four-week moving average basis, confidence amongst renters is at its highest level since January.Compared to households who own their home outright, confidence amongst renters is at its strongest since 2022, Dunk added. The softer confidence amongst homeowners may be linked to the recent downturn in the housing market.Weekly inflation expectations rose to 5.8%, increasing by 0.1 percentage points, while the current financial condition indicator for 12 months increased 3.6 points to 69. The future financial conditions for the next 12 months rose by 5.9 points to 88.3 points.Short-term economic confidence for the next year eased 1.5 points to 68, while medium-term economic confidence for the next five years decreased by 1.9 points to 80.4 points from 82.3.The "time to buy a major household item" subcategory rose 0.9 points to 76.6.