The national office of statistics in Britain has announced yesterday that the country's GDP rose in the third quarter by 0.7% as compared to the second quarter. Growth had been more moderate than preliminary estimates of a 0.8% growth, as well as economists' predictions of a 0.8% increase. Europe's stock exchanges, having recovered all the declines they incurred due to the collapse of the American Lehman Brothers investment bank in 2008, had closed yesterday on a mixed trend, with the London exchange locking at a 0.6% rise, the Frankfurt exchange retreating by 0.1%, and Paris declining by 0.2%
A mixed trend with a tendency for index rises has been recorded this morning in the Asian stock markets, led by the stock of the commodities sector, after the price of oil approached 90 United States dollars per barrel of oil. The growth has also been influenced by the index rises recorded on Wall Street yesterday. Therefore, the Seoul stock exchange declines by 0.4%. The Hong Kong stock exchange climbs by 0.2%, and the Taiwan stock exchange strengthens by 0.2% as well. Due to a Japanese holiday, trade will not be conducted today at the Tokyo stock exchange.
In the macroeconomic sphere, the United States Department of Commerce reported yesterday that the American GDP grew in the third quarter at an annualized rate of 2.6%, higher growth than expected according to preliminary data published in the previous month, pointing to a 2.5% growth. That said, growth was more moderate than predicted by economists, who predicted a 2.9% growth in the third quarter.
More from the macroeconomic sphere: the real estate agents' association announce yesterday that existing home prices rose 5.6% in November as compare to the previous month, to an annualized rate of 4.68 million homes. Growth was slightly higher than analysts' predictions of an annualized rate of 4.66 million homes in November, as compared to an annualized rate of 4.43 million homes in October. Still, the sales rate is lower by 27.9% from the rate for November 2009.
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