Today the weekly theme of inflation reports continues. New Zealand reported its inflation rate numbers for the second quarter of 2021, with both YoY and QoQ rates higher than expected. These results lend support to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to curb asset purchases because they exemplify a high degree of economic recovery from the pandemic.
The Bank of Japan held its July monetary policy meeting today. The regulator decided to leave the interest rate unchanged at -0.1% on account of the still ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the country and the Japanese economy’s overall dissatisfactory performance. Understandably, the Bank of Japan also changed its forecast for annual growth to a slightly more pessimistic one.
The eurozone published its final core inflation rate report for June, which amounted to 0.9% as predicted. All other inflation readings also met the forecasts.
There will be a flood of reports from the United States later today. These include the retail sales for June and the preliminary Michigan consumer sentiment survey for July.
In terms of the stock market, today US indices will be doing better. They are mostly propelled forward by exciting news in the tech sector, where Intel announced it is considering acquiring the company GlobalFoundries, which is a smaller chipmaker. This will considerably extend Intel’s hold of the chip market.
Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna has also made it to most major headlines after it managed to be added to the S&P 500 index. This is the second most high-profile addition to the index this year, the first being electric vehicle maker Tesla.
In other news, crude oil prices have stabilized on speculation that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were able to reach a compromise on production quotas. The two OPEC members fought during the last summit, with Saudi Arabia offering an increase of 400K barrels per day, while the UAE insisted on more generous amounts. If the UAE agrees to the proposed terms now that many regulators have raised concerns about oversupply in the context of the continuing pandemic, things will calm down in the oil market.
The price of the Brent crude reached $73.69, while the WTI climbed to $71.94 today.
