U.K. House Prices, China’s Ports, Yellen’s Trip: Eco Day

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Welcome to Thursday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• U.K. house prices are likely to surge further in the next year because of a shortage of new properties coming onto the market, an industry survey showed
• Fewer than one-in-five office workers in the U.K. have returned to city center workplaces since restrictions were relaxed, reflecting both summer vacations and a reluctance to commute
• Central London landlords hoping that residential rents would rebound as swathes of bankers, finance workers and lawyers return to the office are being left disappointed
• The spread of the delta variant across much of China is weighing on growth, according to Bloomberg Economics
• China partly shut the world’s third-busiest container port after a worker became infected with Covid, threatening to further disrupt global trade. Meantime, China’s central bank is facing mounting calls to cut interest rates
• Prices paid by U.S. consumers climbed at a more moderate pace, though not enough to provide major relief
• Kansas City Fed President Esther George said the central bank needs to move ahead with reducing monetary stimulus
• Janet Yellen is weighing a trip to China in the coming months that would be her first as U.S. Treasury secretary, people familiar with the matter said

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