US consumer confidence dropped in August to the lowest level since 2014, indicating that Americans are becoming more pessimistic amid persistently high unemployment.

The Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence published last Tuesday fell to 84.8 in August, the lowest level since the pandemic began, from a revised 91.7 the prior month. Economists had expected a reading of 93 for August.

The report indicates an uneven economic recovery as Americans struggle with high unemployment and uncertainty about future government stimulus. It also shows that consumer confidence remains well below pre-crisis levels, demonstrating the depth of the economic problems created by the pandemic, as well as the impact of the increase in the spread of the virus in June and July.

Meanwhile, in the UK, car manufacturing outputs fell by 21 per cent in July despite nearly all vehicle factories in the country being open throughout the month.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 85,696 new vehicles left the assembly line last month, which is 22,543 fewer than in the same month last year. By the end of July, UK output stood at 467,053 units for this year – some 308,000 short of the same period 12 months earlier, which the SMMT says has resulted in more than 11,000 job losses in the sector.

With almost all UK car showrooms open throughout July and registrations of new models rising by 11 per cent in the month, there were hopes of a bounce back in the fortunes of UK car manufacturers following the coronavirus pandemic. However, the latest decline points to another turbulent five months ahead.

Finally, in China, as the manufacturing sector slowly recovers from its coronavirus slump, profits at industrial firms grew for the third month in a row in July, and at the fastest rate since June 2018.

Profits grew by 19.6 per cent on-year to 589.5 billion yuan (€72.25bn), the country’s statistics bureau reported on Thursday, following the 11.5 per cent increase seen in June.

China’s recovery has been gaining momentum after the pandemic paralysed huge swathes of the economy as pent-up demand, government stimulus and surprisingly resilient exports gave a boost to activity. However, some signs of weakness have emerged in July, with industrial output growing slower than expected.

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