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    <channel>
        <title>Weekly RSS</title>
       
        <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/rss/weekly-rss/</link>
        <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
        <language>en</language>
                <item>
                    <title>Chinese domestic demand remained weak in July; no major policy changes on the horizon</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202634_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that retail sales, a rough measure of domestic consumption, grew in July by just 0.6 % in nominal terms. Real growth was likely close to zero. Although China does not release reliable monthly-level fixed investment figures, trends remain weak. There have been no signs of recovery in the housing market. Real estate investment in the first seven months of this year contracted by 19 % y-o-y, while apartment sales measured in terms of floorspace declined by 12 %. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202634_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:45:50 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>China finds its stride in global artificial intelligence race</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202634_2/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[China has been catching up with the United States in its development of AI models and related infrastructure. Chinese AI companies operate somewhat differently than their US counterparts, who are currently investing heavily in compute cluster build-outs (large data centres) and AI models that utilise those vast resources. More constrained Chinese firms have responded to their challenges, particularly export restrictions, with their own innovations. Compute is scarce in China as the US, Japan and the Netherlands have tightened rules on exports of advanced chip manufacturing technology to China. In particular, the Dutch ASML has restricted exports to China of its high-end ultraviolet lithographic machines, essential in manufacture of advanced microchips. US-based firms Nvidia, AMD and Intel are also banned from exporting their most advanced chips to China. These limitations have forced Chinese developers to focus on different aspects of AI development. A recent Brookings Institute commentary notes that Chinese developers, due to export restrictions and tighter access to financing, have focused on the calculation efficiency of models and increasing the size of their user bases. China also has a strong position in AI-related supply chains, controlling many of the critical raw materials essential for microchip manufacturing ( BOFIT Weekly 32/2026 ). ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202634_2/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:43:44 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>Higher oil prices boost Russia&#x2019;s export earnings, but fiscal deficit widens</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202633_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[Russian goods exports and imports up in recent months  Preliminary figures from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) show that the value of goods exports in January-June rose to 226 billion USD, a 16 % gain from a year earlier. The goods exports trend has been heavily influenced by oil prices as fossil fuels account for over half of Russia’s goods exports. With the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, oil prices on world markets and the price of Russia crude oil surged to levels well above those of spring 2025. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the average export price of Russian oil in the first half of this year was 17 % higher than in 1H25. Oil prices have subsided somewhat in recent months. The IEA put the average export price of Russian crude in June at $65 a barrel and $60 a barrel in July. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202633_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:50:19 GMT</pubDate>
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                <item>
                    <title>China-Russia bilateral goods trade increased rapidly in the first half of this year</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202632_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[China Customs reports the value of exports and imports of goods both grew by over 20 % y-o-y in the first six months of 2026. China’s first-half exports were valued at $61 billion, while the value of imports climbed to $74 billion. Trade between the two countries contracted in 2025, but with rapid growth goods exports and imports this year are on track to hit record highs. There is no country-specific data available on trade in services overall. However, based on available figures, tourism between the countries show an increase, which has been facilitated by the 30-day visa-free regime introduced last September by China and December by Russia. Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have met over 40 times since 2013, with the most recent meeting being Putin’s visit to Beijing in May. The next meeting might occur next month at the BRICS summit in India. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202632_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:49:30 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>China retains dominance of critical raw material production</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202632_2/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[This year’s  Global Critical Minerals Outlook , which was released in July by the International Energy Agency (IEA), shows that the mining and refining of critical minerals is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few producer countries, not to mention refining and processing of rare earth elements (REEs). One insight, however, is that REE refining and procession is increasingly happening outside China as well, though in relatively small capacity. Global investment in critical minerals, on the other hand, declined by 9 % last year. China thus continues to account for a significant share of critical mineral processing. China is the largest or second-largest refiner of key critical materials, including lithium (74 %), cobalt (76 %), battery-grade graphite (94 %), copper (47 %) and nickel (31 %). China is not necessarily a dominant player in mining output, however. For example, China’s global share of copper, cobalt and nickel ore production is only 2–8 %, though Chinese firms own many mines abroad. In contrast, refining of the REEs used in permanent magnets (84 %) and mining of REEs generally (59 %) is heavily concentrated in China, even if China’s share of refining magnetic REEs fell last year from its over 90 percent share in previous years. The REEs used in permanent magnets (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium) are important for electronics and the defence sector, as well as in the manufacture of electrical motors and wind turbines. In 2023–2025, the growth in energy mineral production (includes manganese, nickel and natural graphite) was concentrated in a few producer countries. Indonesia dominated in nickel production, while China accounted for over three-quarters of the total increase in processing of other energy minerals. Chinese-owned firms, however, control about 75 % of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202632_2/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
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                <item>
                    <title>Weak first half for Russian economy; EU expands sanctions</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202631_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[Russia’s State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reports that the output of five core sectors of the economy (agriculture, industrial output, construction, transportation, and wholesale and retail trade), that roughly captures trends in GDP growth, increased by 0.2 % y-o-y in the first six months of the year. This positive figure suggests a mild recovery in economic activity following a weak start to the year. GDP contracted by 0.2 % y-o-y in the first quarter. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202631_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:06:45 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>China&#x2019;s GDP growth slows in second quarter</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202630_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[Official figures show the Chinese economy grew by 4.3 % y-o-y in the second quarter of this year (up 3.6 % q-o-q annually adjusted), missing China’s official 4.5–5 % target range for the year. Weak household demand and lower fixed investment reduced growth from 5 % y-o-y in the first quarter (up 5.3 % q-o-q). BOFIT’s alternative GDP calculations indicate Q2 growth slowed to 3.1 % y-o-y (3.2 % in 1Q). Our estimated alternative GDP growth rate band also widened considerably (1.2–4.7 %). The IMF’s updated World Economic Outlook released earlier this month raised its Chinese GDP growth forecast for 2026 by 0.2 percentage points to 4.6 %, and by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1 % for 2027. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202630_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:36:04 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>China&#x27;s vehicle exports shift into high gear</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202630_2/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[Chinese car production this year rose to a cumulative 15 million vehicles, of which roughly 5.3 million were exported, with over a million sent out in June – a new record. Exports grew fastest in the second quarter of the year, when nearly three million vehicles were exported from China. If China's monthly growth in vehicle exports follows previous years’ trends and the current growth pattern, this year's cumulative vehicle exports could reach 13 million. The value of Chinese car exports in the first half of this year amounted to roughly €79 billion. The value of car exports in the same period last year was €54 billion. Compared to June 2025, car exports increased by 71 % in June. Moreover, cumulative vehicle exports in 2025 only reached the 5-million mark in September and never exceeded the 1-million mark in a single month. Chinese vehicle production rose to 35 million vehicles in 2025 (30 million in 2024). The production capacity of China’s automotive sector is currently estimated at around 45–50 million units a year. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202630_2/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:32:09 GMT</pubDate>
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                <item>
                    <title>Ukraine&#x2019;s economy recovers after hard winter</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202629_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[Following a rough winter, calculations by Ukraine’s economy and ecology ministry show 12-month economic growth took off in March. For the first five months of the year, Ukraine’s GDP volume recovered to the same level as in the same period in 2025. In the first quarter of this year, Ukraine’s economy contracted by 0.6 % y-o-y due to Russian bombing of the country’s energy sector and transport infrastructure, as well as an exceptionally cold winter. The April-May energy situation recovered quickly with the conclusion of the warming season. Ukraine's energy production suffered extensive damage, with energy production down almost 25 % in January-May compared to the same period a year earlier. In the main sectors of Ukraine's economy, annual growth in the first five months of the year was largely positive, with retail and construction volumes growing rapidly. The positive trend in retail sales was driven by ongoing brisk growth in real wages. Similarly, construction activity remained high, namely with defence-related fortification and other construction accelerating sectoral growth overall. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202629_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:40:59 GMT</pubDate>
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                    <title>IMF lowers global growth estimate for this year, but expects technological development to accelerate growth next year</title>
                    <link>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202628_1/</link>
                    <description><![CDATA[According to the July update of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), global economic growth should slow from 3.5 percent last year to 3.0 percent this year, then recover to 3.4 percent next year. The forecast for this year fell by 0.1 percentage points from the IMF’s April WEO, but increased by 0.2 percentage points for the next year. The negative supply shock from the war in the Middle East has been partly offset by investment and exports from accelerated demand of products in the AI-adjacent technology value chain, such as chips and transformers. The growth forecast was lowered the most for countries dependent on oil and natural gas imports that only account for a small share in the global technology value chain, including countries in the Middle East and North Africa. ]]></description>
                    <guid>https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202628_1/</guid>
                    <pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:54:46 GMT</pubDate>
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