Saudi Arabia's industrial production index declined 16.3% year over year in June, following an 18.7% drop in May, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed Monday.
The decrease was mainly driven by lower mining, quarrying and manufacturing activities.
On a monthly basis, the index rose 4.3%.
Bank of Japan policymakers see room for further rate hikes as inflation moves toward the 2% target, while some members favored holding rates steady to assess past increases, according to the minutes of the July 30-31 meeting released Monday.The central bank noted that the timing and pace of future adjustments will depend on geopolitical developments, foreign exchange movements, and AI-driven demand, with officials projecting moderate economic growth and gradual inflation acceleration through fiscal 2027.On inflation, policymakers highlighted upside risks from the weak yen, higher import prices, geopolitical developments and strong AI-related demand.
Japan booked a current account deficit of 92.3 billion yen in June, swinging from a surplus of 3.968 trillion yen a month earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in a Monday release.The deficit defied market expectations for a surplus of 1.512 trillion yen, according to Investing.com.It was also a turnaround from the surplus of 1.282 trillion yen the previous year.The primary driver of the shift was a swing to a deficit in the goods trade account at 135.2 billion yen from a surplus of 6.9 billion yen a month earlier.
Japan's bank lending growth decelerated in July, with total loans and discounts at major, regional and shinkin banks rising 5.4% year over year to 679.2 trillion yen, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Japan on Monday.The pace of growth eased from the 5.7% expansion in June, and was lower than the consensus forecast of 5.7%, tracked by Investing.com.Loans at major and regional banks alone grew at a softer pace of 5.9% versus 6.2% in June. Major banks' loan growth slowed to 8% from 8.6%, while that of regional banks was flat at 4.2%.Foreign banks' yen-denominated lending edged up 28.3% to 728.1 trillion yen.On the deposits side, deposits and certificates of deposit at city, regional and shinkin banks rose 1.6% year over year to 1.074 trillion yen in July.