Japan's leading economic index, which gauges the economic outlook for the months ahead against a 2020 base of 100, was revised lower to 116.5 in May from the previous estimate of 116.8, according to data from the Cabinet Office released Monday.
The final print for May was still up from 116.1 in April. However, it missed the Trading Economics forecast of 116.8 points.
China's gold imports reached a two-year high of about 173.3 tons in June, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing the General Administration of Customs.The amount increased from 162.6 tons in the previous month, according to the report.Bullion-backed exchange-traded funds saw net inflows of 28 tons this year, Bloomberg said, citing the Shanghai Gold Exchange.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
Total new residential mortgage lending in New Zealand fell to NZ$8.45 billion in June from NZ$8.63 billion in May, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand released on Monday.Residential mortgage lending to first home buyers fell to NZ$1.6 billion in June from NZ$1.68 billion in the previous month. Lending to other owner-occupiers decreased to NZ$5.1 billion from NZ$5.23 billion.Residential mortgage lending to investors rose to NZ$1.65 billion from NZ$1.61 billion, while that for business purposes decreased to NZ$95 million from NZ$112 million.Total new residential lending at a loan-to-valuation ratio above 80% came in at NZ$1.27 billion in June for all borrower types, up from NZ$1.25 billion in May.Residential mortgage lending, where the loan-to-valuation ratio is equal to or below 80%, was NZ$7.18 billion for all borrower types, down from NZ$7.38 billion in the previous month.
Saudi Arabia's merchandise trade surplus came in at 26.02 billion Saudi riyals in May, up from the prior month's revised 22.76 billion riyals, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed Sunday.Merchandise exports totaled 93.78 billion riyals, up 3.9% year over year, while merchandise imports fell 19.5% to 67.76 billion riyals.