Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Middle East Tensions, Weak China GDP Weigh on Sentiment 
U.S. Imposes 25% Tariff on Select Brazilian Imports After Section 301 Trade Investigation 
South Korea Raises Interest Rates to 2.75% as Inflation and Weak Won Drive Tightening 
IEA Warns China Rare Earth Export Curbs Could Threaten $6.5 Trillion in Global Production 
China Q2 2026 GDP Misses Forecast as Weak Domestic Demand Offsets Export Strength 
ECB's Kocher Says No Inflation Spillover Yet From Iran Conflict, Warns Risks Remain 
Port of Los Angeles Posts Record June Cargo Volume as Importers Rush Ahead of U.S. Tariffs 
China Home Prices Fall Again in June Despite Slower Pace of Decline 
South Korea’s KOSPI Enters Bear Market Despite Remaining 2026’s Best-Performing Major Stock Index 
Asian Stocks Slide as Nikkei Leads Losses on Tech Selloff and Rising U.S.-Iran Tensions 
Oil Prices Set for Weekly Surge as U.S.-Iran Conflict Fuels Supply Fears 
Dollar Slides as Softer US Inflation Dims Fed Rate Hike Expectations 
Gold Price Holds Near Record High as Cooling U.S. Inflation Offsets Fed Caution 
Japan Core Inflation Seen Rising in June, Strengthening BOJ Rate Hike Outlook 
Gold Prices Slip as Oil Rally Fuels Inflation Fears, Strengthens Dollar 
Malaysia Q2 Economy Grows 5.8%, Beating Forecasts on Strong Tech Exports and Domestic Demand 
The US economy grew by 2.3 percent quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter, slightly less than the average prediction of 2.6%. The overall growth rate for 2024 was 2.8 percent, which was bit less than the 2.9 percent rate in 2023.
Consumer spending bucked forecasts of a decline, rising to 4.2 percent quarterly from 3.7 percent in the previous quarter. The increase was driven by goods spending, notably a 12% increase in durable goods expenditures. Spending on services increased by a solid 3.1%, up from 2.8% in the third quarter.
With a 5.6 percent quarterly decline, gross private domestic investment was a drag. Looking at the details, non-residential investment fell 2.2%, mostly due to a 7.8% drop in equipment spending following two strong quarters of expansion. While investment in intellectual property items increased by 2.6 percent, structures also saw a decline of 1.1 percent. However, following two quarters of recession, residential investment rebounded, increasing 5.3% on a quarterly basis.
Even while government expenditure slowed from the 5.1 percent pace in the preceding quarter, it still grew at a rate of 2.5 percent each quarter. Spending by state and municipal governments decreased from 2.9% to 2%.
The decline in foreign trade was 0.8 q/q for both imports and exports. In the end, net trade produced a negligible boost to GDP, resulting in a wash.
A robust 3.1 percent q/q increase in final domestic demand was a deceleration from the 3.7 percent growth in Q3. Weaker inventory investment slowed headline GDP growth, deducting 0.9 percentage points from the total previous quarter.
The Fed's favored inflation indicator, core PCE inflation, increased to 2.5 percent q/q , a little increase from the 2.2 percent rate in Q3.
