South Korea's official foreign reserve assets stood at $427.0 billion at the end of May, compared with $427.9 billion in the previous month, according to Bank of Korea data published Thursday.
The amount consists of $380.7 billion in securities, $21.4 billion in deposits, $4.4 billion in International Monetary Fund reserve position, $15.8 billion in special drawing rights, and $4.8 billion in gold.
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted total building volume fell 3.5% in the March quarter compared with the December 2025 quarter, Thursday's data from Stats NZ showed.Residential building volume fell 2.2%, while non-residential volume declined 4%.Meanwhile, excluding cost changes or seasonal effects, the actual value of building work fell 5.9% year-on-year to NZ$7.2 billion in the March quarter.Residential building work declined 2.5% to NZ$4.6 billion, while non-residential work fell 11% to NZ$2.6 billion. The actual value of total building work declined across most regions, led by a 5.2% drop in Auckland to NZ$2.8 billion.
US equity indexes fell as higher crude oil helped push government bond yields higher after the stalled Iran peace talks extended the timeline for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2% to 50,687.07, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.9% to 26,853.98 and the S&P 500 lower by 0.7% to 7,553.68. Technology, financials, and consumer discretionary led the decliners, while energy was the top gainer at the close.No progress has been made in peace negotiations, Al Jazeera cited Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying, referring to talks between Tehran and Washington. However, the contact with the United States has not been cut off, Araghchi reportedly said.The US and Iran exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday evening, setting off attacks by both sides that included strikes on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, The Wall Street Journal reported. A barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Wednesday shut Kuwait's international airport. Iran's retaliatory strikes "should serve as a lesson" for the US, Al Jazeera cited the Revolutionary Guards.President Donald Trump said he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fighting of Hezbollah in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran, according to the Associated Press.Meanwhile, the House is preparing to vote on Wednesday on whether to halt the US military action against Iran as a handful of Republicans signaled they are ready to join Democrats to end the war, the Associated Press reported. House Speaker Mike Johnson shut down floor action two weeks ago when the war powers resolution was on the verge of approval, the news report said.Separately, US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell 8.0 million barrels in the week ended May 29 after a 3.3-million-barrel decline in the previous week, versus the 3.1-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Brent crude futures marched 1.8% higher to $97.76, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures added 2.5% to $96.09.Most US Treasury yields rose amid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, abetting inflation concerns. The 10-year jumped four basis points to 4.50%, and the two-year advanced 3.1 basis points to 4.08%.In precious metals, gold futures slid 1.3% to $4,461.80, and silver futures fell 3.4% to $72.99, reflecting the challenge that the Federal Reserve faces in tackling supply-side price pressures.In economic news, ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 122,000 increase in May from a revised 105,000 expansion in the previous month, above expectations for an increase of 120,000 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Institute for Supply Management's US services index rose to 54.5 in May from 53.6 in April, compared with expectations for 53.8 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P Global US services index was revised downward to 50.7 in May from the 50.9 flash reading, compared with expectations for an upward revision to 51.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development continues to expect US economic growth at 2% this year, though it raised the estimate for next year to 1.8% from 1.7%.In company news, Macy's (M) raised its full-year outlook as fiscal Q1 earnings increased year over year and beat analysts' expectations.