The rouble hit a more than 16-month low on Wednesday, hampered by strong foreign currency demand and limited supply, with Russia’s shrinking trade surplus and widening budget deficit also hurting sentiment.

With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the Covid pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world’s largest cruise ship.

China's consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July, as the world's second-largest economy struggled to revive demand and pressure mounted for Beijing to release more direct policy stimulus.

Oil prices eased in Asian morning trade on Wednesday as concerns over slow demand from top crude importer China grew after bearish trade and inflation data, outweighing fears over tighter supply arising from output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Oil prices fell by more than 1.5 percent on Tuesday after data showed China’s imports and exports fell much more than expected in July in yet another sign of a sluggish post-Covid rebound for the world’s largest oil importer.

India’s fuel consumption slipped to a 10-month low in July, government data showed on Tuesday, as monsoon rains restricted mobility in the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer.

Moody’s cut credit ratings of several small to mid-sized US banks on Monday and said it may downgrade some of the nation’s biggest lenders, warning that the sector’s credit strength will likely be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability.

Indian wheat prices surged to a six-month high on Tuesday due to limited supplies and robust demand ahead of the festival season, dealers said.

Rice planting in India could fall by 5 percent as New Delhi’s decision to ban non-basmati white rice exports will cut farm income and encourage growers to switch to other crops, a leading farmers’ group with close ties to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said.

China’s imports and exports fell much faster than expected in July as weaker demand threatens recovery prospects in the world’s second-largest economy, heightening pressure for authorities to release fresh stimulus to steady growth.

China’s imports from Russia dropped in July, the first monthly decline since February 2021, with imports of oil and other goods having continued to rise steadily after the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine, Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday.

German inflation eased in July, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday, confirming preliminary data.

British food price inflation is likely to fall to around 10 percent later this year but will need to drop further for overall consumer price inflation (CPI) to return to its 2 percent target, Bank of England (BoE) Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Monday.

Thailand is benefiting from India's rice export ban and has no reason to halt its own shipments as it has sufficient output for exports and domestic consumption, its commerce minister said on Monday.

Moody's cut credit ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks on Monday and said it may downgrade some of the nation's biggest lenders, warning that the sector's credit strength will likely be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability.

German industrial output plunged in June, official data showed Monday, with the economy ministry warning of a gloomy outlook as high energy prices and interest rates took their toll.

Now that regulators in Washington have unfurled a hefty reform package of post-financial crisis capital regulations, banking industry advisers are honing in on what they consider most disruptive, including risk management requirements that could affect real estate lending, consumer credit and wealth management.

Since China opened to foreign investment in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping, global firms have ploughed in hundreds of billions of dollars to buy and build factories for market access and cheap labour, bolstering the Chinese currency.

The dollar rose on Monday after a mixed US jobs report on Friday sent the US currency to a one-week low, with market focus turning to inflation data from the world’s two largest economies due this week.

China’s exports likely contracted further in July, as manufacturers in the world’s second-largest economy struggled for buyers in markets grappling with high inflation and rising interest rates, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.