Global Stock Markets

Japan's corporate services price index rose 3.6% year-on-year in July, beating expectations of 3.2% and accelerating from a revised 3.4% gain in June. The Bank of Japan reported the data on Wednesday, showing that firms are passing rising labour costs on to each other faster than anticipated amid a tight domestic job market. On a monthly basis, the index rose 0.4%, reversing a 0.4% decline in the prior month. This business-to-business acceleration arrives alongside separately released figures showing core consumer inflation quickening to 1.8% in July from 1.6% in June, driven by import costs from a weak yen and geopolitical tensions involving Iran. The broadening price pressures have shifted market expectations sharply, with Reuters sources reporting that the central bank is poised to raise its policy rate to 1.25% as soon as its September 17 and 18 meeting. Policymakers are also weighing a faster tightening pace than their historical rhythm of roughly two hikes a year.

The US dollar fell below the G. 6.000 threshold in Paraguay, opening the week at G. 5.980 to G. 6.000 as a broader regional currency appreciation took hold. Between January 2025 and August 2026, the guaraní appreciated 23.0% against the dollar, outpacing the U.S. Dollar Index's 9.7% decline over the same timeframe. The Banco Central del Paraguay attributes the currency shift to macroeconomic stability, lower sovereign risk, and a record soybean harvest driving foreign exchange inflows. While cheaper imports relieve consumer basket costs, exporters face compressed margins upon converting dollar revenues into local currency and are pressing the central bank for direct market intervention.

Cnbc.com reports that China's industrial profit growth in July slumped to a seven-month low of 11.2% from a year earlier, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. For the first seven months of the year, profits climbed 17.6%, losing momentum from the 18.7% growth rate recorded in the first half. The survey covers firms with annual core revenues of over 20 million yuan. This year's double-digit gains follow years of declines since 2021 and follow a global artificial intelligence boom that fueled demand for electronics and computing equipment. However, the reflation boost is petering out as factory-gate inflation slowed to a three-month low of 3.5% in July. Growth in the world's second-largest economy also weakened in the second quarter to its slowest pace in more than three years, constrained by a property market slump and sluggish household confidence.

oilprice.com reports that Saudi Aramco is routing September crude to Asian buyers via ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz. The model moves Saudi crude past the chokepoint on tankers before transferring the cargo to another vessel off Fujairah in the UAE or Sohar in Oman. Two Very Large Crude Carriers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi crude headed to China after ship-to-ship transfers off Sohar. Both cargoes are destined for Sinopec, with one expected at Zhanjiang on September 12 and the other at Ningbo on September 15. The arrangement splits the voyage in two, allowing Aramco to shoulder the riskiest leg of transport outside the strait.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury launched targeted sanctions against roughly 24 entities based in mainland China and Hong Kong under "Operation Economic Outcast." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the campaign, which aims to cut off foreign entities and trade partners that sustain Iran’s economy. The initial round of measures targets nearly 60 individuals, entities, and vessels involved in transporting Iranian oil and facilitating sanctions evasion across the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, and Europe. While the administration focused on brokers and shadow-fleet operators, the measures stopped short of sanctioning major Chinese banks. China, which buys the vast majority of Iran's seaborne oil, criticized the unilateral sanctions as economic warfare and vowed to protect its interests. Meanwhile, Brent crude traded down 2.56 percent at $91.97 and WTI fell 2.58 percent to $48.81 following the announcement.

Oilprice.com reports that the UK government is pumping £71m into miner Tungsten West to reopen the Hemerdon mine in Devon [1]. The funding package from the National Wealth Fund combines a £36m share purchase for a 7.4 per cent stake and a board seat, alongside a £25m loan facility [1]. This capital injection is designed to de-risk the project for private lenders and secure domestic supplies of tungsten for British defense, aerospace, and energy sectors [1]. Tungsten West also gains the financial backing needed to rebuild processing equipment and reach full metal production [1]. Mining operations at the site are scheduled to restart in the third quarter [1].

Oilprice.com reports that the Netherlands will miss its target to fill natural gas storage sites ahead of the winter. Gasunie, the Dutch gas network operator, stated that the country will fail to reach its 115 terawatt-hours target, which represents roughly half of Dutch consumption. Gasunie Transport Services established this benchmark based on fuel requirements during the harshest winter of the past 30 years. While the operator maintains that security of supply is not immediately at risk, the shortfall leaves the country unprepared for extreme cold without additional policy measures. Across the wider European Union, inventories sit at 63% capacity, falling short of the five-year average of 80% and last year's 76% level. ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey warn that the bloc will struggle to hit a 75% storage threshold before the heating season begins. Qatar's liquefied natural gas flows have been constrained by the Strait of Hormuz crisis, tightening supply further than ahead of the 2022 and 2023 winter. Forced buying to meet deficits threatens to push gas prices upward as winter approaches.

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