Meanwhile, in the UK the BoE officials expect their next decision will be to hike interest rates and now they are focused on timing and a degree of an eventual tightening in policy, even despite weak inflation. Nevertheless, the BoE Governor Mark Carney highlighted that external risks are the main menace to the UK economy, given the two major economies—Europe and Japan, see their economic conditions deteriorating, while geopolitical situation remain difficult. The British economy continues to rely on domestic spending, which drove the nation's economic output to a seventh consecutive quarter of expansion. Household spending climbed 0.8% in the three months through September, the most since the second quarter of 2010. The second official estimate of third-quarter GDP showed no revision to the quarterly growth of 0.7%. On an annual basis, the UK economy grew 3%, also unrevised from an earlier estimate. On the negative side, business investment decline of 0.7%, the first drop in more than a year, and exports fall of 0.4% weighed on the economy in the third quarter.
The US economic expansion was much stronger than initially estimated in the three months through September, boosted by surging consumer spending. The nations' gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 3.9% in the third quarter compared with the 3.5% rate expected earlier.
In Japan, former Minister of Finance Eisuke Sakakibara sees the Japanese Yen drop to stop eventually after plunging 14% since mid-year. He believes that the nation's currency is unlikely to hit its low of 124.14 per Dollar in the run-up to the financial crisis in June 2007. Sakakibara also highlighted that the Japanese economy is not that weak despite the fact that negative impact of April's sales tax appeared to be prolonged. Thus, eventually, the tax increase will loosen its chocking impact on the world's third biggest economy and the Yen will start strengthen. Meanwhile, the minutes of the latest BoJ board member meeting showed four policy makers expressed concerns that expanding quantitative easing could do the economy more harm than good. Thus, the surprise announcement of extra stimulus on October 31 was approved by the narrowest majority, with five of nine members having been in favour of doing more.