Japan's producer price index (PPI) rose 7.2% year over year in July, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Japan on Thursday.
The reading was softer than the consensus forecast of a 7.4% increase tracked by Investing.com, and against the revised 7.3% reading in June.
On a month-over-month basis, factory-gate prices increased 0.1% from the prior month, also decelerating from the 0.5% expansion previously.
Retail sales of passenger cars in China fell 21% year over year to about 1.5 million units in July, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association released Tuesday.Retail sales of gasoline-powered vehicles slid 41% year over year, with that of pure gasoline cars falling 44% and conventional hybrids slipping 4% year over year. Domestic branded vehicles declined 46%, all due to high oil prices, the CPCA said.New energy passenger vehicle sales fell 3.9% year over year to 951,000 units, with domestic brands declining 4%, mainstream joint ventures rising 36%, and luxury brands decreasing 23%.Retail penetration of new energy vehicles in China reached 65.1% in July, up from 53.5% a year earlier and from 63% in June.Overall retail passenger car sales in China fell 20% in the first seven months of 2026 to nearly 10.2 million units.
Singapore's current account surplus increased to SG$37.08 billion in the second quarter from SG$30.52 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Department of Statistics Singapore on Wednesday.The increase was a result of higher goods exports during the quarter, which led to the goods account surplus rising to SG$70.4 billion in Q2 from SG$60.1 billion in the same period a year earlier. Services account surplus also increased to SG$14.3 billion from SG$12.3 billion.The primary income deficit widened to SG$44.77 billion from SG$37.87 billion, while the secondary income deficit narrowed to SG$2.88 billion from SG$4 billion.
Sentiment among major Japanese companies improved in August, with both the Reuters Tankan manufacturing and non-manufacturing indices registering gains, according to survey data published Wednesday.The Reuters Tankan manufacturing index rose to +18 points from +13 points in July, owing to strong semiconductor demand.The reading topped the Trading Economics forecast of a slight change to +14 points, and marked the 17th consecutive month that sentiment was positive among manufacturers in Japan.Meanwhile, the non-manufacturers' sentiment index likewise climbed to +28 from +25 the previous month following improvements in wholesale trade, information services and other services.The poll, carried out from July 29 to Aug. 6, obtained responses from 219 out of the 510 companies surveyed, Reuters said.