The German government lifted the country’s growth outlook for 2017 and 2018 due to increased optimism about rising global demand. German Economic Affairs Minister Brigitte Zypries said: “The German economy is growing steadily and remains on a growth path, despite an uncertain global environment”. Europe’s largest economy is expected to expand by 1.5 per cent this year and 1.6 per cent in 2018, improving optimism about the nation’s economic outlook. Zypries said the main growth drivers are low interest rates, construction investment and high demand for housing.

Meanwhile, in the UK, property tracker Rightmove said the average asking price for houses in the country increased by 1.1 per cent month-on-month to a record of £303,655, following a 1.3 per cent rise in March. Year-on-year, UK house prices rose by 3.8 per cent in the first three months of 2017, after a 5.1 per cent gain in the three months to February, missing market expectations of a 3.9 per cent increase. This reading was the lowest since May 2013, and significantly lower than the 10 per cent peak reached in March 2016.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “Increasingly stretched buyer affordability will continue to be a price moderator for sellers who are over-ambitious with their pricing, tempering the pace of price rises”.

Finally in the US, a report released by the Conference Board showed that following the reporting of sharp increases in the previous two months, consumer confidence in the US fell by more than anticipated in April. Consumers were less optimistic about the short-term outlook while an increasing percentage felt business conditions were bad. The consumer confidence index fell from 124.9 in March to 120.3 in April. Analysts had forecast the index to fall from 125.6 initially reported in March to 123.1 in April.

A key component of the index that measures views on the present situation declined from 143.9 in March to 140.6 in April. Lynn Franco, the Conference Board’s director of economic indicators said: “Despite April’s decline, consumers remain confident that the economy will continue to expand in the months ahead”.

This report was compiled by Bank of Valletta for general information purposes only.

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