RIYADH: The world’s economic output next year is forecast to exceed $100 trillion for the first time, according to a report by the British consultancy Cebr.
The report also said that China will take longer than previously expected to surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy. It predicted that China will occupy this place in 2030, compared to 2028 in the earlier report, according to Reuters.
It is also likely that Germany’s economy will outperform Japan’s in 2033.
Russia is set to become one of the 10 biggest economies in the world by 2036 and Indonesia is looking forward to the ninth place in 2034, the report added.
Inflation threat
The head of Norway’s wealth fund said that financial markets are set to experience weak returns in the next decade and that inflation is the main hurdle ahead.
The fund had an average rate of return of 6 percent for a quarter century, but lower returns are now expected and might turn negative, according to Bloomberg.
He stated that inflation is affecting multiple fronts such as freight rates, metal and food prices, construction costs and potentially wages. The CEO of the largest wealth fund in the world added that inflation could be more consequential than is widely currently believed.
Turkey’s unconventional policy move
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country won’t rely on raising interest rates to combat inflation, indicating that some of the policies he launched last week stabilized inflation in less than a day.
The government will shift its focus to economic growth, emphasizing investment, employment, production, exports and a current account surplus, Bloomberg reported, citing Erdogan.
Japanese prices accelerate
Annual inflation rate in Japan hit 0.6 percent in November, accelerating from 0.1 percent in the previous month, official data showed.
The rise in consumer prices was attributed to a 9.2 percent hike in costs of fuel, light and water charges, as well as a 1.4 percent increase in food prices.
If fresh food and energy prices are excluded, the yearly rate would actually reflect a deflation of 0.6 percent.
In monthly terms, overall consumer prices in the country went up by 0.3 percent in November.
Mexican economy
Mexico’s GDP narrowed by 0.2 percent in October compared to a month ago, as the country continued to grapple with pandemic-related issues which stretched into the fourth quarter of this year.
In addition, this was the third consecutive monthly slump in economic activity, Reuters reported, citing figures from the country’s official statistics agency INEGI.
The country’s exports, in seasonally adjusted terms, hit an all-time high of $43.9 billion in November, inducing the first deficit in six month, valued at $463 million.
China’s central bank
The People’s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, said that the country’s real economy is set to receive more support, and that monetary policy will become more forward-looking.
The bank also aims to prop up the property sector’s growth, safeguarding the home buyers’ rights, and helping in meeting housing demand, according to Bloomberg.