EUR/USD
1.14671
0.038%
Gold
4029.02
-0.771%
Oil
79.020
-0.882%
USD/JPY
162.149
-0.023%
GBP/USD
1.35344
-0.029%
GBP/JPY
219.465
-0.041%
Real-time News
July 16th - A survey released by the Bank of Japan on Thursday showed that over 90% of Japanese households expect prices to continue rising over the next year, up from three months ago, indicating further inflationary pressures and strengthening market expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. This survey result will be one of the key factors the Bank of Japan will assess at its monetary policy meeting this month. The survey showed that the percentage of households expecting prices to rise over the next year rose to 90.4% in June, up from 83.7% in the previous survey. The percentage of households expecting prices to rise over the next five years was 86.1%, up from 82.6% in the previous survey in March. With the cost of living continuing to rise, 49.9% of households expect their economic situation to worsen over the next year, up from 32.8% in the March survey and reaching the highest level since December 2008.July 16th - The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced on Thursday that the UK economy grew in May, indicating that consumers and businesses were more resilient than previously expected in the face of political turmoil and rising energy prices. UK GDP grew by 0.1% month-on-month in May, reversing a 0.1% decline in April. This economic improvement comes amidst political turmoil and an energy crisis. At that time, Labour leader Keir Starmer suffered a major defeat in the May local elections, making his governments hold on power precarious, and the British public began to anticipate another change of prime minister. Meanwhile, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East continued to push up oil prices and dampen market confidence. A recent OECD report warned that Burnham, who will succeed Starmer as Prime Minister next Monday, will inherit a UK economy facing "significant challenges."The yield on Japans 20-year government bonds rose 6.0 basis points to 3.595%.The yield on Japans 40-year government bonds rose 7.0 basis points to 3.825%.July 16th - Liz McKeown, Head of Economic Statistics at the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), stated that the UK economy maintained solid growth in the three months to May, although the pace of growth slowed slightly due to relatively weak performance in the last two months. She noted that the service sector was the main driver of economic growth over the past three months, with computer programming and advertising performing strongly again, while the volatile pharmaceutical sector also maintained good growth. However, this growth only partially offset the drag from continued weak electricity production, and the architectural design and engineering services sector also contracted. She pointed out that although all three sectors grew in the three months to May, the slight increase in GDP in May was driven solely by the service sector, while the manufacturing and construction sectors both declined.
