The World Bank trimmed its 2026 forecast for China to 4.2% on lower domestic demand and consumer confidence, according to a report released Thursday.
The reading in June is 0.2 percentage points lower than the 4.4% growth forecast in January.
The multilateral lender also attributed the downward forecast to continued property sector adjustment and a decline in the labor force.
The bank funding gap in Australia is expected to decline around 14% over the next 12 months to around AU$1 trillion by June 2027 from around AU$1.2 trillion, as tax changes lead to slower credit growth, BofA Securities said in a Thursday note.Changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing are expected to materially slow investor mortgage lending. Investors accounted for around 40% of mortgage flows over the past year. Consecutive central bank hikes and negative sentiment have weighed on the housing market, with house prices expected to remain flat this year.The recent strength in deposit growth is expected to continue. Slower credit growth should reduce banks' demand for high‐quality liquid assets, which has been a key support for semis. A narrower bank funding gap implies reduced bank bill issuance.Banks have reduced their reliance on wholesale funding in recent years, while deposits as a proportion of total funding improved to 67.5%, the note said. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) has the strongest customer deposit base, with deposits accounting for 79.4% of funding.
Taiwan's machinery exports rose 26.2% year over year to $3.50 billion in May, according to data from the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) released on Wednesday.The growth pace was faster than the 23.6% increase recorded in the previous month.Exports of electronic equipment, driven by semiconductor and AI demand, amounted to $719 million, while machine tool exports rose 2.4% annually to $194 million.
The UK Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors house price balance stood at -35% in May, unchanged from the revised reading in the previous month, according to residential market survey data released Thursday.The latest reading missed the consensus estimate of -31% and remained the weakest since November 2023.House price expectations for the next three months deteriorated to -45% from -39%, suggesting further downward pressure on prices.