China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
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Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data 
Japan’s Nikkei Drops as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data 
Dollar Holds Steady as Markets Shift Focus to 2026 Rate Cut Expectations 
The German bunds slumped during European session Tuesday ahead of the country’s Ifo business climate index for the month of December, scheduled to be released on December 18 by 09:00GMT and the eurozone’s November consumer price inflation (CPI), due on the same day by 10:00GMT.
The German 10-year bond yield, which move inversely to its price, lost 1 basis point to -0.281 percent, the yield on 30-year note suffered 1-1/2 basis points to 0.237 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year too traded 1 basis point down at -0.637 percent by 10:25GMT.
Despite the upbeat outlook from ECB last week, the December flash PMI shows that Euro Zone manufacturing sector remained weak. The manufacturing PMI slipped to 45.9 from 46.9 in November, OCBC Treasury Research reported.
On the positive side, service PMI rebounded to 52.4 from 51.9 beating market expectations. Nevertheless, in the US, the flash December composite PMI increased to 52.2 from 52 led by service PMI, the report added.
Meanwhile, the German DAX edged tad -0.60 percent lower to 13,324.70 by 10:30GMT.
