- Traders cite intervention to support the the Indian rupee
- Beijing’s export engine holds up on AI demand despite fresh US tariffs – July exports beat forecasts
- Asian stocks slide as Middle East jitters hit Korea, AI names weigh on Nikkei
- China July Exports jump higher again in July
- Crypto news – US Senate pushes CLARITY Act crypto vote to September as recess nears
- Chinese investors pour $1.2bn into gold ETFs in longest streak since March
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.7904 (vs. estimate at 6.7548)
- ECB kept out of loop on historic US-Japan yen intervention, FT reports
- Yen intervention data shows scale of Japan’s fight against 40-year lows
- Japan household spending falls for seventh month, clouding BOJ rate path
- Tokyo benchmark set for record overhaul as 600 plus names face removal
- Japan June 2026 Household spending -6.4% m/m (vs. expected -3.1%, prior +3.7%)
- Japan weighs more flexibility for GPIF as pension giant reports Q1 gains
- More from Fed’s Musalem, says financial conditions very accommodative, asset prices elevated
- More from a hawkish Musalem , says gradual hikes beat abrupt moves as inflation risk builds
- Musalem says inflation risks tilted higher, credibility at stake
- Heads up RBA preview: Analysts see cash rate on hold at 4.35% Tuesday
- investingLive Asia-pacific FX news wrap 6 Aug: USD moves higher with yields ahead of US jobs report
- Saudi warns imminent attacks aim to derail Iran de-escalation talks
- Trump still does not know when war will end: “I think will end pretty soon””
- Preview: July non-farm payrolls by the numbers
- U.S. Stocks close lower as earnings pressure weighs; Dow leads the decline
Summary:
- Saudi Arabia expects imminent, coordinated attacks from Iraqi militias, Iran-backed Houthis and the IRGC from the north, south and east, targeting energy, economic and civilian infrastructure
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, bringing the Muslim world’s only nuclear power into the picture
- Oil prices ticked higher on Houthi-Saudi tensions and lingering doubt over the terms of the Iran-Oman deal
- Fed’s Musalem reinforced his hawkish tilt in São Paulo, warning against tolerating above-target inflation to chase productivity gains
- China’s July exports beat estimates and the yuan strengthened, with high-tech goods driving nearly 60% of the month’s export increment
- Asian equities were mixed to weaker Friday, with the Nikkei dragged down by chip and AI names and Korean shares reversing sharply on Middle East headlines
- China’s July inflation data lands Sunday, 9 August at 0130 GMT (Saturday, 8 August, 9:30pm US Eastern)
Wrap:
The Gulf security picture darkened further on Friday as a senior Saudi official told both CNN and Reuters that the kingdom expects multiple coordinated attacks imminently, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Yemen’s Houthis and Iraqi militias converging from the north, south and east. Targets are said to include civilian, energy and oil facilities, economic sites, critical infrastructure, airports and ports, with Saudi officials saying drones and missiles are being observed in motion right now, consistent with preparations for a three-pronged operation. Against that backdrop, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, according to sources close to the Saudi military and government, notably bringing Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only nuclear power, into a formal defence arrangement with Riyadh at a moment of acute regional risk. Oil prices ticked higher as Houthi-Saudi tensions built, with additional uncertainty stemming from Iranian reporting on the terms of the Iran-Oman deal, which has pointed to conditions seen as unfavourable to the US and its regional allies.
On monetary policy, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem used a speech and Q&A in São Paulo to reinforce the hawkish signal he has been sending since last week’s FOMC meeting. Musalem said inflation remains well above target with risks tilted higher, and argued monetary policy must impose meaningful restraint rather than staying easy in pursuit of productivity gains, warning that doing so would put the Fed’s credibility at risk. The remarks add to a run of increasingly hawkish commentary from Musalem this week, framing any tolerance of above-target inflation as a direct threat to the central bank’s inflation-fighting reputation rather than a defensible trade-off.
In other notable central bank news the Reserve Bank of India sold USD/INR to support the rupee.
China’s trade picture continued to hold up. July exports beat estimates, and the yuan strengthened in response. Over the first seven months of 2026, China’s combined goods trade reached 30.13 trillion yuan, up 17.3% year on year, with July exports of high-tech products including industrial robots and 3D printers growing by more than 50% from a year earlier, accounting for close to 60% of the month’s total export increment. The data reinforces the theme of AI and advanced manufacturing demand carrying China’s external trade even as domestic consumption stays soft.
Regional equities reflected the mixed cross-currents. Japan’s Nikkei fell around 1% as AI and chip-related losses outweighed broader gains, with SoftBank Group down around 4% despite beating first-quarter profit expectations, while the Topix was roughly flat. In Korea, the KOSPI opened more than 1% higher and briefly touched the 6,400 level before reversing entirely within the hour as the Hormuz and Saudi attack headlines hit sentiment, dragging SK Hynix down around 5% and pulling the KOSDAQ to a loss of close to 3%.
Looking ahead, China’s July inflation data is due Sunday, 9 August at 0130 GMT, which is Saturday, 8 August at 9:30pm US Eastern time, and will be closely watched for further confirmation of whether external demand strength is translating into any pickup in domestic price pressure.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
