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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Graeme Wearden

‘Winter is coming’ to UK housing market as prices tumble; China trade slumps – as it happened

United States United Kingdom Halifax Kim Kinnaird
An estate agent's window in Thetford, England.
An estate agent's window in Thetford, England. Photograph: Martin Pope/Getty Images

Afternoon summary

Time to wrap up, here are today’s main stories so far:

Strike news: Workers for Border Force are to hold industrial action on several dates in December, the PCS union has said.

Strikes will take place on 23rd to 26th and 28th to 31st December, affecting Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Manchester and the Port of Newhaven.

Our Politics Live blog has been tracking the latest on the UK’s winter of discontent:

Over in Ottowa, the Bank of Canada has lifted its benchmark interest rate by another half-point, to 4.25%.

Announcing the move, the Bank of Canada warned that inflation around the world remains high and broadly based, with global economic growth slowing.

It adds:

In the United States, the economy is weakening but consumption continues to be solid and the labour market remains overheated. The gradual easing of global supply bottlenecks continues, although further progress could be disrupted by geopolitical events.

Interestingly, the BoC also signalled that its monetary tightening campaign was near an end, saying:

Looking ahead, Governing Council will be considering whether the policy interest rate needs to rise further to bring supply and demand back into balance and return inflation to target.

The All Bar One owner, Mitchells & Butlers, has lauded recent encouraging sales at the pub and restaurant group but warned that risks from rising food and energy costs lie ahead.

The hospitality chain, which also owns Toby Carvery and Harvester, told shareholders on Wednesday that like-for-like sales had increased by 6.5% since the end of its latest financial year in late September.

M&B said the trading environment remained “very challenging” but its revenues had been boosted by workers returning to offices as Covid fears eased, benefiting its city centre locations.

It posted an £8m pre-tax profit for the year to 24 September, a significant improvement from the £42m loss in the previous year.

Microsoft has struck a deal to make the hit video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years – which could ease regulators’ concerns about its $69bn takeover of game maker Activision Blizzard.

Microsoft, which makes the Xbox game console, faces resistance from Sony, which makes the competing PlayStation console and has raised concerns with antitrust watchdogs about losing access to what it calls a “must-have” game title.

Microsoft President Brad Smith tweeted his thanks to Nintendo, which makes the Switch game console, saying he’d be happy to hammer out a 10-year deal for PlayStation as well.

In September the UK’s competition watchdog raised concerns about Microsoft’s deal to buy the Call of Duty publisher, Activision Blizzard.

The Competition and Markets Authority fears the merger “could substantially lessen competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services”.

Sony has criticised the MS-Activision deal, claiming it would be “bad for competition, bad for the gaming industry, and bad for gamers themselves”, and give Microsoft “a dominant position in gaming”.

London no longer Europe’s financial center because of Brexit, Euronext boss claims

Brexit has cost London its title of being Europe’s dominant financial center, the boss of Europe’s largest exchange group has claimed.

Euronext’s chief executive Stephane Boujnah told Bloomberg Television that:

“London used to be the largest financial center of the European Union, and everybody liked it”

Now, though, Boujnah added, “London is the largest financial center of the United Kingdom.”

Boujnah was speaking after the combined market capitalization of primary listings in France, excluding ETFs and ADRs, briefly overtook that of Britain last month.

While more money changes hands daily in London than in Paris, the turnover across all of Euronext’s exchanges is double that of London, Boujnah said.

Here’s the full story:

The US housing sector cooled last week, with mortgage applications dropping by 1.9%.

Applications for a new loan to buy a house fell 3% week on week, and were 40% lower than a year ago, while remorgaging applications jumped 4.7% – lured by a drop in 30-year mortgage rates.

Joel Kan, an economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association which compiles the data, explains that “purchase activity slowed last week”.

GSK and Sanofi shares surge as US judge dismisses Zantac cases

Back in the markets, shares in phamaceuticals firms GSK and Sanofi have jumped after a US judge dismissed thousands of lawsuits claiming that the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.

GSK have jumped over 7.5% so far today, the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard, while Sanofi are up almost 6% in Paris.

GSK told shareholders this morning that it will continue to defend itself vigorously, including against all claims brought at the state level in the US, saying:

GSK welcomes yesterday’s ruling by the MDL Court. Following the 12 epidemiological studies conducted looking at human data regarding the use of ranitidine, the scientific consensus is that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk of any cancer.

Yesterday’s ruling reflects the state of that science and ensured that unreliable and litigation-driven science did not enter the federal courtroom.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says:

“This outcome is probably the best GSK could have hoped for given how comprehensively the judge in the case dismissed the plaintiffs’ arguments.

“While there is some risk of an appeal, and there are other cases outstanding, GSK will be sitting a lot more comfortably than it was before this judgement was handed down.

“It will allow the market to focus on the recent improvements in GSK’s underlying performance and the fact it is now a leaner and more efficient operation thanks to the spin-off of its consumer health division, now trading as Haleon.

“Haleon (+3%) itself, which was also seen at risk of some exposure to the Zantac affair, also enjoyed strong share price gains on Wednesday.”

Campbell Soup has beaten Wall Street forecasts after hiking prices.

Campbell has reported a 15% increase in net sales over the last quarter, due to “inflation-driven pricing, brand strength and continued supply recovery”.

Pretax earnings jumped by 16%. Campbell are lifting their forecast for profits this year.

Campbell’s President and CEO, Mark Clouse, says the company managed to ‘mitigate’ against inflationary pressures, by lifting its own prices:

“Through a combination of inflation-driven pricing actions and productivity improvements, we have substantially mitigated significant inflationary pressure in the quarter while continuing to provide quality and value to consumers.

We are investing in the equity of our brands through effective marketing, delivering robust innovation and deploying efficient capital spending to ensure we continue to fuel improving in-market shares and growth.

With the momentum of our strong first-quarter performance and confidence in our strengthened supply chain, we are raising our full-year fiscal 2023 guidance while taking into account the volatile economic environment.”

Shares in Campbell Soup are up 2% in pre-market trading.

Oil lowest since January, so what about petrol?

The oil price has sunk to its lowest level since January, prompting calls for fuel retailers to cut their own prices.

Brent crude is trading around $79.40 per barrel, hit by concerns about a global downturn.

The RAC are concerned that petrol prices have not fallen faster. Earlier this week the The Competition and Markets Authority said it had seen “some evidence of rocket and feather behaviour” – when prices shoot up rapidly but come down slowly.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams says the failure to pass on cheaper wholesale oil prices is ‘totally unreasonable’:

“There is yet more pressure on the biggest fuel retailers today to pass on savings to drivers as the price of oil has dipped below $80 for the first time since the start of the year causing the wholesale cost of petrol to tumble to 105p a litre and diesel to 119p.

“If a cut of at least 10p a litre doesn’t come soon it will be yet more evidence of ‘rocket and feather’ pricing for the Competition and Markets Authority to take note of. The disparity between average pump prices at 158p for petrol and 182p for diesel and their wholesale equivalents is truly shocking. Even taking account of major retailers’ buying cycles, we can see no justification for them not cutting their prices significantly.

“This failure to reflect falling wholesale costs over multiple weeks at the pumps is totally unreasonable. Whenever you have smaller, independent forecourts charging far less than the big four supermarkets, which buy far larger quantities of fuel on a far more frequent basis, it has to be a cause for major concern.

The drop in temperatures in Europe is pushing up demand for power, and energy prices, points out Bloomberg’s Javier Blas:

The UK rishs running out of electric vehicle technicians by the end of the decade, a think tank has warned.

The Social Market Foundation says Britain faces a shortage of 25,000 qualified technicians by 2030, which could drive up servicing costs and mean some electric carowners wouldn’t be able to properly maintain their vehicles.

Currently, the SMF says there is a surplus of well-trained technicians to service and repair EVs for existing and near-future demand. But “concerted action” from government and industry is likely to be required to avert a looming skills crunch in 2027.

Otherwise, the government will struggle to hit its net zero targets by moving drivers away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

The Amazon logo is seen in Douai, northern France.

Amazon has been fined €3.3m by a French watchdog for being too slow to fix contractual provisions related to third-party sellers.

France’s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog said in a statement that Amazon had been ordered to make the changes, aimed at correcting imbalances in contractual terms between Amazon’s online marketplace and third-party sellers, by March 22.

Amazon had complied with DGCCRF’s orders a month later, on April 28, the watchdog said, which led to penalties equivalent to €90,000 euros per day of delay.

An investigation by the agency had found ther was a significant imbalance of these contractual conditions in favour of Amazon. The company was fined €4m in September 2019 by the Paris Commercial Court.

Amazon has said it would appeal against DGCCRF’s penalties.

“The DGCCRF has acknowledged that the changes we implemented in April are consistent with its injunction.

“However, we continue to disagree with the DGCCRF on its findings, decisions and related penalty, and are challenging each of them in court.

Updated

Full story: UK house prices fall at fastest rate in 14 years, says Halifax

House prices in the UK fell by 2.3% in November, according to Halifax, the largest monthly drop on its index since the beginning of the financial crash in 2008.

The fall is the third in a row, and means the average house price last month was £285,579, down from £292,406 in October.

Meanwhile, the annual rate of house price growth slowed to 4.7%, down from 8.2% in October, the lender said. The rate of annual growth slowed in all areas of England, apart from the north-east, with a similar slowing trend in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Wales and the south-west, which were hotspots of house price inflation during the pandemic, experienced the biggest cooldown, which Halifax said suggested that “previous drivers of the market, such as the race for space and heightened demand for rural living, are now receding”.

Kim Kinnaird, the director at Halifax Mortgages, said the market may be going through a period of “normalisation” and house price changes next year would depend on factors such as the rising cost of living and how the economy performed.

The UK isn’t the only place where house prices are under pressure.

Estate agent Knight Frank has reported that house prices across 56 countries fell by 0.3% year-on-year in real terms (ie, once you discount for inflation) in the third quarter of the year.

Here’s the key points from their Global House Price Index:

  • House prices across 56 countries and territories are still rising at a rate of 8.8% per annum, down from 10.9% at their peak in Q1 2022

  • However, in real terms, when accounting for inflation, house prices are now declining by 0.3% year-on-year

  • 48 of the 56 countries and territories tracked by the index are still registering price growth on annual basis, 21 of these are still registering double digits price growth.

  • Only six countries and territories recorded a decline in prices in the year to Q3 2022, these include South Korea, Hong Kong, Peru, the Chinese mainland, New Zealand and Morocco.

Taiwan's exports slump more than expected in warning sign for global economy

More trade data…

Taiwan’s exports fell for the third straight month in November, and more sharply than forecast, as demand was hit by the slowing global economy and China’s Covid-19 curbs.

Exports dropped 13.1% by value last month from a year earlier to $36.13bn, the lowest figure in 19 months and the sharpest fall in almost seven years, the Ministry of Finance reported.

Taiwan’s finance ministry said global demand was slowing “more and more obviously”, due to the Ukraine war, inflationary pressures around the world and the rise in interest rate by central banks to fight inflation.

Ministry of finance official Beatrice Tsai said China’s COVID-19 controls had also hit demand for electronic components, citing Apple’s warning last month on lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated due to pandemic curbs at Foxconn’s assembly plant in China’s Zhengzhou.

Just in: The eurozone economy grew faster than previously thought in the last quarter.

GDP across the euro area rose by 0.3% in July-September, higher than the initial estimate of 0.2% growth.

That’s a better performance than the UK, whch shrank by 0.2%, but still lags the US which expanded by over 0.7% in the quarter.

Halifax’s house price report shows that annual property price inflation also slowed in London, which continues to lag the other UK regions and nations.

House prices in the capital have risen +5.2% over the last 12 months, down from +6.6%. The average property price in the capital remains well above the UK average (of £285,579) at £549,160.

Mike Scott, chief analyst at national estate agency Yopa, predicts UK prices will stabilise in 2023, following the 2.3% tumble in November (see opening post).

Scott explains that low unemployment and the shortage of houses for sale should both support prices:

The new Halifax House Price Index for November confirms an abrupt slowdown in house prices, with the average price falling by 2.3% in the month, and the annual rate of growth falling from 8.2% to 4.7%.

The recent financial turmoil has caused many potential house buyers and sellers to withdraw from the market for the time being, and this is reflected in the fall in prices. The trajectory of house prices next year will depend on whether or not they return to the market in the new year as financial conditions stabilise. People still have housing needs to satisfy, and so it is likely that market activity will pick up again in 2023, though not reaching the very busy levels that we have seen over the past two and a half years.

There are still many factors supporting house prices — shortage of supply, low unemployment, rising average earnings (though not keeping up with inflation) — and Yopa therefore expects that the market will return to more normal conditions in 2023, with prices neither rising nor falling significantly.

Energy news: Joe Biden has agreed a deal to ramp up gas exports from the US to the UK as part of a joint effort to cut bills and limit Russia’s impact on western energy supplies.

Rishi Sunak and Biden have announced an “energy security and affordability partnership” and set up a joint action group, led by Westminster and White House officials, with the aim of reducing global dependence on Russian energy.

Britain was not reliant on large quantities of Russian gas before the invasion of Ukraine but has been exposed to the huge rises in prices as European neighbours competed for other supplies as they rushed to fill up storage facilities.

Under the deal, the US aims to more than double the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported to the UK over the coming year, compared with 2021.

Quilter: Mini-budget harmed UK housing market

The 2.3% tumble in UK house prices in November shows the damage inflicted on the housing market by the mini-budget, says Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter:

When Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous plans to get the economy motoring were announced in late September, the markets reacted violently and subsequently high long term predictions for interest rate hikes were quickly priced into mortgage products by lenders.

This brought an abrupt end to what has been a long era of cheap money for property purchases. Increased rates, sky high inflation and general uncertainty will quickly put lots of potential first time buyers and movers off, reducing demand and house prices with it.

The good news is that the predicted interest rate peak has dropped somewhat making mortgages more affordable but still a long way off what the UK has become used to.

Even so, Noye thinks the market could cool this winter:

However, it may still be that particularly as we experience cold weather and subsequent expensive energy bills, those on the fence about a relocation or a step onto the property ladder will choose to wait it out, further reducing prices as we go through the winter.

But if inflation starts to ease, allowing the Bank of England to cut interest rates, then house prices are unlikely to be in decline for too long, Noye predicts:

There is simply not enough stock on the market and people cannot put their life on pause forever. Just yesterday, Housing Secretary Michael Gove succumbed to pressure and has diluted government house building targets following a rebellion. Some MPs have since said that this could result in fewer homes being built. With less stock coming on to the market and the population crying out for homes its only a matter of time before house prices return to their upward trajectory.

This represents good news for homeowners but for ‘generation rent’ this will continue to put owning a home out of reach as wage growth lags house price inflation.

China trade slumps in November

China has been hit by a larger than expected drop in imports and exports.

China’s exports contracted 8.7% from a year earlier in November, while imports tumbled 10.6%, customs data showed today.

It’s the biggest slump in exports and imports shrank in at least 2-1/2 years, Reuters reports.

It suggests China’s economy weakened more than thought this autumn, as the global economy cooled and Covid-19 lockdowns were implemented at many cities.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected exports to shrink 3.5% after a 0.3% loss in October as global demand cooled. Imports were forecast to have contracted by 6.0% from a 0.7% fall in October, hurt by sluggish consumption at home amid widespread COVID-19 restrictions and a protracted property slump.

The drop in exports and imports was due to “supply disruption in China as well as weak demand from the US and Europe”, says Iris Pang, ING’s chief economist for Greater China.

Looking forward, weak external demand could drive China’s exports even lower, Pang adds:

Smartphone exports contracted 9.6% YoY in November. This could be a combined effect of supply disruption in China as well as weak demand in the US and Europe. But if we look further, it could be more an issue of weak demand.

Imports from Taiwan contracted by 10.4% YoY in November. Parts and raw material imports into China for the production of electronic parts and electronic goods contracted. As we use semiconductors as an early indicator of growth, we believe that exports in the coming months should continue to contract.

Reuters’ Andy Bruce shows how UK house prices have recorded the third-largest drop since Halifax records started in 1983:

Greeting card firm Moonpig cuts forecast as Royal Mail strikes hit orders

The Moonpig logo.

Elsewhere this morning, greeting card company Moonpig has cut its annual revenue forecast on Wednesday after business was hit by postal strikes at Royal Mail.

Moonpig told shareholders that trading conditions have “become progressively more challenging through October and November”, citing continued macroeconomic uncertainty and industrial action at the UK postal operator.

It says demand for last-minute card-only orders fell around each Royal Mail strike day:

Levels of new customer acquisition have decreased year-on-year and we have seen consumers trading down to lower gifting price points at Moonpig and Greetz.

UK card-only orders have also been impacted by industrial action at Royal Mail during September and October.

Moonpig now expects full-year revenues of around £320m this financial year, down from a previous forecast of £350m. Pretax profits have more than halved to £9.1m for the six months to the end of October.

Shares in Moonpig have dropped 12.5% at the start of trading in London, the worst share on the FTSE 250 index.

Updated

Chris Goodwin, partner at Leicester-based Hortons Estate Agents, also predicts that the lack of housing supply will support UK house prices:

“Prices are coming down but we’re ignoring the overly negative predictions about house values. After all, if house prices fall 5%, all that means is your home is worth roughly what is was in January. If house prices fall 10%, all that means is you home is worth roughly what it was last summer.

Conclusion: your home is still worth much more than it was three years ago, before the pandemic.

We need some perspective around the property market and less hype.

There is still a phenomenal lack of supply and that will support prices.”

Updated

The surge in mortgage rates after September’s mini-budget rocked the financial markets have worried some potential housebuyers.

So says Jason Tebb, CEO of property search website OnTheMarket.com:

“With average property prices falling once again in November, as well as the annual rate of growth slowing, the continued rebalancing of the market is evident.

All the upheaval – the macro-economic challenges and the chatter around fixed-rate mortgages, which although edging downwards are higher than we have grown used to – will inevitably impact the confidence of the average property-seeking consumer.

Mortgage rates have certainly dropped back from the levels set in October. The average five-year fixed rate has fallen below 6%, after jumping from around 4.75% to 6.5%.

Demand for houses has 'throttled back'

The speed with which the market has turned has left “many people playing catch-up”, says Jonathan Hopper, CEO of Garrington Property Finders:

“Plenty of sellers still seem to think it’s 2021, not realising that to buyers it feels more like 2008.

“The post-pandemic days of soaring prices and the ‘race for space’ as professionals snapped up homes in the middle of nowhere are over.

“Demand from buyers has throttled back, with many taking the time to reflect and negotiate aggressively on price. As supply starts to exceed demand, homes that are less than perfect are struggling to get a look in.

“Buyers are asking themselves the perennial question they wrestle with during a downturn – will the home I’m buying today be cheaper in a year’s time?

“For some, the answer may be yes. But given that most people buy a home to own and live in for at least five years, this need not be a barrier if they find somewhere now that’s perfect and negotiate a fair price. The Halifax’s data shows the average home is already 2.3% cheaper than it was a month ago.

And while many expect a further cooling of the market in the New Year, 2023 is unlikely to be another 2008, Hopper reckons:

“In some popular areas the ongoing scarcity of homes will support prices, and the story will be more of a sharp slowdown in activity rather than a crash in prices.”

The ‘chronic shortage’ of UK houses for sale is providing some support to house prices, points out Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor:

We are coming off the back of heightened property price inflation for many years, with those upward pressures finally starting to ease off as a result of rising mortgage rates, a looming recession and the cost-of-living crisis. However, limiting this to some extent is the chronic shortage of housing supply in the UK economy, that is stemming sharper declines.

Many potential house buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to ease and house prices to soften further into next year before reigniting their property searches. The chaos around the mini-budget which sent mortgage rates soaring has also put off potential buyers, who are still hoping that mortgage rates could become more affordable from here.

In terms of regions, the North East of England is the only region to still be enjoying double digit house price inflation. Meanwhile London is lagging other regions, with house prices up 5.2%, however property prices in the capital are still sharply above the UK average.”

‘Winter is coming’ to the UK housing market, after prices fell at the fastest rate since the 2008 financial crisis, warns Chris Hodgkinson, the managing director of House Buyer Bureau:

“The UK property market now looks to be entering a period of decline, with sustained price drops for the last three months - and this will be further fueled by sustained economic uncertainty and inflation that just refuses to be controlled. Average the last few monthly data points and we’re looking at an annualised potential decline in home values of over 11%.

Something was always going to give after years of double digit increases and we are now starting to see the inevitable signs of a much less settled period ahead. Winter is indeed coming.”

Updated

Knight Frank: House prices to keep falling as financial pain speads

The jump in mortgage rates after the mini-budget hit house prices, as Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at estate agents Knight Frank explains:

“House prices in November moved sharply in the opposite direction to mortgage rates, which spiked following the mini-Budget.

The slightly confusing message for buyers and sellers is that mortgage rates should continue to edge down even as the Bank of England raises the base rate.

Bank of England data has shown that mortgage approvals fell 10% in October, as the jump in borrowing costs hit demand.

Bill predicts house prices will keep falling:

Even as the financial pain becomes less acute in coming months, we expect it to become more widespread as more favourable mortgage offers made before the mini-Budget lapse.

This should take house prices back to where they were in the summer of 2021, erasing around half of the 20%+ gain they made during the pandemic.”

Updated

“Economic headwinds” hit house prices hardest in Wales and South East

Annual house prices inflation has slowed most sharply in Wales and in South West England, two areas which saw a sharp boom in prices during the pandemic – which spurred some families to move into larger homes further from major cities.

Halifax explains:

Wales (+7.9%, average price of £220,689) and the South West (+8.4%, average price of £307,750) have seen the sharpest slowdown of annual growth (from +11.5% and +10.7% respectively).

This is notable given both were key hotspots of house price inflation during the pandemic, suggesting that previous drivers of the market such as the race for space and heightened demand for rural living are now receding.

Updated

Introduction: UK house prices fell 2.3% in November, biggest since 2008

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

UK house prices have tumbled at the fastest rate since October 2008, the height of the financial crisis, as rising mortgage rates made buying a new house less affordable.

Lender Halifax has reported this morning that the average house price dropped by 2.3% in November, the third consecutive fall in a row. This wiped almost £7,000 off the average price, which fell to £285,579 from £292,406.

The annual rate of growth dropped to +4.7%, from +8.2% in October.

Prices fell in almost every region of England (apart from the North East), and also slowed across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

UK house price index from Halifax

The market volatilty following September’s mini-budget rocked the housing market, driving up mortgage rates.

Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, explains:

While a market slowdown was expected given the known economic headwinds – and following such extensive house price inflation over the last few years (+19% since March 2020) – this month’s fall reflects the worst of the market volatility over recent months.

“Some potential home moves have been paused as homebuyers feel increased pressure on affordability and industry data continues to suggest that many buyers and sellers are taking stock while the market continues to stabilise.

Kinnaird points out that house prices have climbed steeply over the last two years.

Halifax house price index

“When thinking about the future for house prices, it is important to remember the context of the last few years, when we witnessed some of the biggest house price increases the market has ever seen.

Property prices are up more than £12,000 compared to this time last year, and well above pre-pandemic levels (+£46,403 vs March 2020). “The market may now be going through a process of normalisation. While some important factors like the limited supply of properties for sale will remain, the trajectory of mortgage rates, the robustness of household finances in the face of the rising cost of living, and how the economy – and more specifically the labour market – performs will be key in determining house prices changes in 2023.”

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt is meeting bank chiefs today, and will urge them to do everything in their power to support those struggling to pay their mortgage during the cost-of-living crisis.

Last week, rival building society Nationwide reported that house prices fell 1.4% last month, as rising interest rates hit demand.

Many experts expect prices to fall next year. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility predicts that house prices could fall by as much as 9% by 2024.

A study by Bloomberg Economics has estimated house prices in the UK may fall by as much as 20% as the Bank of England pushes up the costs of borrowing. The BoE has already raised interest rates to 3%, from 0.1% a year ago, with further increases expected.

Also coming up

The London stock market is set to open higher, after China announced a nationwide loosening of Covid restrictions. The change means that asymptomatic Covid-19 cases and those with mild symptoms can self-treat while in quarantine at home, the strongest signal yet that Beijing is shifting its zero-Covid strategy.

MPs on the Treasury committee are holding an evidence session with experts and the Financial Conduct Authority as it continues its inquiry into the crypto-asset industry. They’re examing crypto fan tokens, particularly those endorsed by footballers.

The agenda

  • 7am GMT: Halifax house price index for November

  • 10am GMT: Eurozone GDP report for Q3 2022 (third estimate)

  • Noon GMT: US weekly mortgage applications data

  • 2.15pm GMT: Treasury committee hearing into crypto fan tokens

  • 3pm GMT: Bank of Canada sets interest rates

Updated

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