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China's GDP annual growth in the third quarter fell to its lowest level in a year, with the powerhouse recording a 4.9 percent increase compared to 7.9 percent in the previous three months, according to official data.

This was mainly due to the impact of energy shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, major fluctuations in the real estate market and increased pressures on policy makers. 

Meanwhile, the January-September annual growth rate was a remarkable 9.8 percent.

China’s industrial production

The country’s industrial production growth also slowed to a 3.1 percent annual rate in September, compared to the 5.3 percent jump in the previous month. Official data showed that production declined noticeably for cements and automobiles as they fell by 13 percent and 13.7 percent respectively.

For the first 9 months of 2021, industrial output went up by a significant 11.8 percent year-on-year.

Chinese unemployment

China’s urban unemployment rate recorded its lowest level in 33 months as it declined to 4.9 percent in September down from 5.1 percent in August, data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed.

In the first 3 quarters of this year, China has created 10.45 million jobs, slightly below its 11-million target for the whole year.

Supply chain disruptions and inflation fears in the UK and US

A survey of chief financial officers in major British companies revealed that supply chain problems could well persist beyond 2021. 

A majority of the surveyed CFOs think the annual price inflation will continue to be above 2.5 percent in the next two years.

Moreover, a survey of economists in the United States, carried out by The Wall Street Journal, showed that they expect the country to grapple with mounting inflationary pressures into 2022. Again, this is fuelled by global supply chain bottlenecks.

They expect inflation to reach around 5.25 percent in December.

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports increased by 12.3 percent year-on-year in September 2021, jumping steeply from a 2.7 percent growth in the previous month, Statistics Singapore said. 

This was the tenth consecutive month of increase in non-oil domestic exports and was driven by a noticeable recovery in sales of non-electronic products while sales of electronic products continued their increasing trend.