Data published yesterday by the OECD showed that global trade fell again in Q3 2019, exports down 0.7 per cent and imports off 0.9 per cent. They add that trade was weak across all G20 countries but the slowdown was especially pronounced in the European Union, exports falling 1.8 per cent and imports shrinking 0.4 per cent; of EU countries France fared the worst, exports off 3.6 per cent and imports down 1.7 per cent. The media this morning is focusing blame on the Sino-US trade war, rather than perhaps admitting that we have reached peak globalisation.
Unsurprisingly, UK consumer confidence didn’t improve in November, the GfK survey remaining steady at October’s -14 reading, the lowest since July 2013. With less than a fortnight to go until the general election, I was surprised to hear that 101 seats have not changed party hands since 1945, and that there are an awful lot more ‘safe seats’ than one might imagine. We’ll see.
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