China’s factory activity contracted in June, official data showed on Sunday.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 49.5 in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction.

The sub-index for production dipped slightly to 50.6 from May’s 50.8. New orders dropped further to 49.5 in June, down from May’s 49.6.

China’s premier Li Qiang called for global cooperation and innovation at the Word Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” in Dalian.

Li said that “decoupling, disrupting supply chains and building small yards with high fences would only push up operational costs, sever the economic links between regions and aggravate tensions and disputes”.  

Li stressed that electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have eased the pressure of global inflation and “contributed to the global climate response”.

He urged countries to work together to develop new technologies such as AI and big data.

China has filed the majority of patents applications in generative AI in the decade leading to 2023, the UN intellectual property agency said on Wednesday.

Of the 54,000 generative AI patents filed between 2014 and 2023, China filed more than 38,000, a report by the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported.

China was followed by the U.S. which had 6,276 in inventions the same period. South Korea came in third place with 4155.

China’s lottery sales rose 12.2% in the first five months of the year to 252.54 billion yuan, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Friday.

In May alone, sales fell 4.8% to 47.62 billion yuan. The decrease was partly attributed to high comparison base.

Sales of welfare tickets went up 4.1% to 17.06 billion yuan in May while sports lottery sales dropped 9.1% to 30.56 billion yuan.  

Canada posted a third consecutive trade deficit in May, official data showed on Wednesday.

The country recorded a trade deficit of C$1.9 billion in May, data from Statistics Canada showed. Canada’s merchandise exports fell 2.6% in May, the lowest level sine July 2023 while imports went down 1.6%. The deficit was widened from April’s C$1.3 billion.

Exports to the U.S., however, rose 0.8% in May while exports to other countries dropped 12.9% in May, the biggest drip since the current record which begins in 1997, Statistics Canada said.

U.S. unemployment rate edged up in May, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The national unemployment rate in May rose to 3.7% in May, up from 3.4% from a year earlier.

The country recorded 8.1 million job openings in May, down by 1.2 million over the year.

A total number of 5.8 million hires were recorded in May, down by 415,000 from a year earlier.

Euro zone inflation eases in June, according to estimate from Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU.

Consumer prices is expected to rise 2.5% in June, down from 2.6% in May.

Prices for services are to have the highest annual rate of 4.1% in May while prices for food, alcohol & tobacco were expected to rise 2.5%.

South Korea inflation eased in June, official data showed on Tuesday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.2% in June from the previous month. Prices rose 2.4% in June from a year earlier.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy rose 2.2% from a year ago.

UK economy grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, estimate by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

The growth meant that the UK has emerged from a recession as the country recorded two consecutive quarterly contraction in the last two quarters of 2023.

Gross domestic product is estimated to have increased 0.3% in the first quarter.

The ONS estimated that the economy showed no growth in April.