The Reserve Bank of Zealand has highlighted the speed at which firms are now prepared to pass on costs to consumers amid repeated global fuel price shocks, stoking concern that the central bank will need to raise interest rates further.
Economists said the Bank of Canada is likely to keep its policy rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive time, as inflation remains too hot to cut and economic activity too tepid to raise.
Support among some of the president’s voters has fallen off, alongside an overall declining approval rating on the economy. Others give him high marks.
U.S. inflation figures will mark the key economic data release in the week ahead as investors assess when and whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams noted that policy would have to respond if inflation ends up being more persistent and meaningfully higher than his baseline forecast.
The European central bank’s interest rate decision last month came as higher energy prices were expected to push inflation above its 2% target over the medium term.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 215,000 in the week through July 4, lower than the upwardly revised 217,000 reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said.
China’s factory-gate inflation accelerated in June as the effects of the Middle East conflict continued to ripple through the economy, but consumer-price gains cooled, suggesting persistent weakness in domestic demand.
