The US economy continued to grow across the country as it recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, but the picture was uneven, according to the Federal Reserve Beige book.

“Changes in activity varied greatly by sector,” the central bank said in its survey released on Wednesday.

“Economic activity continued to increase across all districts, with the pace of growth characterised as slight to modest in most districts.”

The Beige Book is based on information collected by the Fed’s 12 regional banks through October 9. The US economy’s rebound has shown some signs of abating in recent weeks as the fiscal stimulus passed in early spring has expired and COVID-19 makes an autumn resurgence. The most recent economic data has been mixed, with consumer spending rising while jobs’ gains have slowed.

Meanwhile, in the UK, annual inflation accelerated in September, as the end of the government’s food discount scheme boosted restaurant and café prices, official data by the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday. Consumer prices rose by 0.5 per cent on year in September compared with a 0.2 per cent rise in August. Month-on-month, consumer prices advanced by 0.4 per cent, offsetting a 0.4 per cent fall in the previous month. Prices were forecast to gain 0.5 per cent. With inflation just 0.5 per cent in September and new COVID-19 restrictions darkening the economic outlook again, it is hard to think of reasons why the Bank of England won’t launch another GBP100 billion or so of quantitative easing at the policy meeting on November 5, Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Finally, China’s economy continued its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic during the third quarter, latest official figures show. The world’s second-biggest economy grew by 4.9 per cent in the three months ended September, compared to the same quarter last year. China is now leading the charge for a global recovery.

The third quarter growth is a far cry from the slump the Chinese economy suffered at the start of the year when the pandemic first emerged. For the first three months of this year, China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the aftermath of nationwide shutdowns. It was the first time China’s economy contracted since it started recording quarterly figures in 1992.

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