Trade talks between the US and China are set to resume in London today, as officials push for a breakthrough over shipments of technology and rare earth elements.
After more than six hours of talks on Monday, negotations will resume at Lancaster House later this morning. Investors are hopeful of a breakthrough that could continue to ease tensions between the two economic superpowers.
Donald Trump has indicated that the first day of talks were encouraging. He told reporters that “We are doing well with China. China’s not easy … I’m only getting good reports.”
The US is unhappy that China has not released crucial rare earth minerals, and magnets, as rapidly as hoped since the two countries agreed an initial trade pact in Geneva a month ago.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in London they had a “good meeting”, Bloomberg reports, while commerce secretary Howard Lutnick called the discussions “fruitful.”
Meanwhile, the number of people on payrolls across the UK has fallen notably, in a sign that the jobs market is weakening.
The latest labour force statistics show that payrolled employment decreased by 109,000 employees (0.4%) in May, compared with April.
On an annual basis, there were 274,000 fewer employees last month, compared with May 2024, pulling total payrolls down to 30.2 million.
The Office for National Statistics does caution that these estimates are more uncertain than usual; if they’re accurate, though, it indicates that demand for workers at British firms is cooling.
Unemployment across the UK rose in the last quarter, today’s labour market data shows.
The UK unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in the February to April quarter, which is the highest rate recorded since the summer of 2021.
That’s a rise from 4.5% in January-March, and also up from 4.4% in the previous quarter.
The agenda • 7am BST: UK labour market report • 10.15am BST: FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi and FCA chair Ashley Adler testify to Treasury committee • 2.30pm BST: World Bank to release latest economic forecasts
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