South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
Lee Seung-heon Signals Caution on Rate Hikes, Supports Higher Property Taxes to Cool Korea’s Housing Market 
Gold and Silver Prices Climb in Asian Trade as Markets Eye Key U.S. Economic Data 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Middle East Tensions 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal 
Dow Hits 50,000 as U.S. Stocks Stage Strong Rebound Amid AI Volatility 
Australian Household Spending Dips in December as RBA Tightens Policy 
Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Australian government bonds remained narrowly mixed during Asian session Wednesday, as investors wait to watch the country’s employment report for the month of July, scheduled to be released on August 15 by 01:30GMT.
The yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, remained tad higher at 0.946 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year bond suffered 2 basis points to 1.551 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded flat at 0.731 percent by 05:50GMT.
US President Donald Trump has finally caved in to delay the scheduled 10 percent tariffs on some Chinese imports (~USD165 billion) till 15 December to avoid the Christmas shopping season and to remove some items from the USD300 billion list, OCBC Treasury Research reported.
This provided the S&P500 (+1.5 percent) some relief overnight, led by consumer electronics, toys and apparel retailers, as risk aversion subsided somewhat and prompted the UST bond yield curve to bear flatten and the 2-10 yield curve came within a whisker of inversion at less than 1bp (smallest gap since 2007), the report added.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index remained tad -0.18 percent lower at 6,521.50 by 05:55GMT.
