The volume of Hong Kong's total exports of goods increased 31.6% year over year in July, according to final data from the Census and Statistics Department released on Thursday.
The volume of imports of goods rose 23.6% in the period.
As export prices increased 13.7% and import prices grew 13.6% from the previous year, the terms of trade index, or the ratio of the export price index to the import price index, ticked up 0.1% in July.
New Zealand job ads rose 0.6% month on month in August and are 9.7% higher year on year, with applications per job ad rising 0.9% month on month despite the increase in available opportunities, according to a Thursday report by Seek.The report said 4% of job ads reference artificial intelligence skills, with mentions rising 4.4% month on month and over 93% year-on-year, while job ads with high-automation exposure are now 0.1% lower year on year as those with medium or low exposure continue to rise.Several regions are recording double-digit annual growth, including West Coast at about 25%, Otago at roughly 19%, and Canterbury at nearly 16%, while Manawatū, Hawke's Bay, Northland, and Taranaki were the only regions where job ads declined month-on-month, the report added.The consumer services sector also grew significantly, led by hospitality and tourism at 3.4% and retail and consumer products at 3.3%, per the report.Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said Auckland enjoyed exceptional monthly growth in August, growing at its fastest pace in over four years, driven by increasing demand for manufacturing, transport, tourism, and hospitality workers.
The Saudi Central Bank on Wednesday decided to hike key rates by 25 basis points to maintain monetary stability.SAMA raised the repurchase agreement, or repo rate, to 4.50% and the reverse repo rate to 4%.The move follows the US Federal Reserve's decision to lift interest rates by 25 basis points.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates raised the base rate applicable to the overnight deposit facility by 25 basis points to 3.9%, effective Thursday.Meanwhile, the interest rate applicable to borrowing short-term liquidity was maintained at 50 basis points above the base rate for all standing credit facilities, according to a Wednesday release.The CBUAE's decision follows the US Federal Reserve's move to increase the interest rate on reserve balances.