Reserve Bank of New Zealand Maintains Official Cash Rate at 2.25%

China's Industrial Profits Up 18% in January-April Period

The total profits of China's major industrial enterprises in the first four months of 2026 went up 18% year on year to 2.436 trillion yuan, faster than the 15.5% growth in the previous month, according to Wednesday data from the National Bureau of Statistics.Mining industry profits rose 26% to 361.8 billion yuan, while that of the manufacturing industry climbed 20% to 1.802 trillion yuan.The utilities industry's profits slipped 1.9% year on year to 272.0 billion yuan.In April alone, profits of major industrial enterprises rose 25% from the previous year.

Australia's Leading Index Slips Deeper into Negative Territory

The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index slipped deeper into negative territory, declining to about -0.2% in April from -0.1% in March, according to a Westpac report on Wednesday.The index forecasts the expected pace of economic activity compared with trend levels three to nine months into the future.Australia is projected to face a prolonged period of sluggish, below-trend growth for the rest of the year and into early 2027, marking the first back-to-back below trend read since late 2024.The last six months has seen the leading index growth rate swing 0.3 percentage points to about -0.2% from roughly +0.2% in November due to a sharp weakening in consumer sentiment.The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Expectations Index has slumped 20% after reaching a four-year high late last year, per the report.

Australia's Annual Inflation in Year to April at 4.2% Versus 4.6% in Year to March