Switzerland's watch exports rose 9.6% year over year to 2.63 billion francs in July, mainly due to growth across all material categories, particularly precious metal, steel, and bimetallic models, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Thursday.
Exports of wristwatches grew 9.8%, while the other products category increased 5.4%.
In the first seven months of 2026, overseas shipments ticked up 0.9%.
Australian consumer inflation expectations rose by 0.2 percentage points in August to 4.9% after three months of moderating inflation expectations, according to the Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations released on Thursday.Wage expectations also increased in August, following a long period of stability, but more data is needed to assess the sustainability of the rise, the survey said.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) kept its benchmark lending rates steady at its monthly fixing on Thursday, matching the consensus forecast tracked by Investing.com.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), which serves as the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, was held at 3.0%.Meanwhile, the five-year LPR, the reference rate for residential mortgages, was maintained at 3.5%.
Bank Indonesia kept its key interest rates unchanged on Wednesday following the conclusion of its Board of Governors' meeting held Tuesday to Wednesday.The central bank left the seven-day reverse repurchase rate, or BI rate, unchanged at 5.75%, while also maintaining the deposit facility rate at 4.75% and the lending facility (LF) rate at 6.50%.Bank Indonesia said its decision was in line with efforts to strengthen the rupiah exchange rate stability amid the global volatility caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East.The central bank said the decision was also aimed at maintaining inflation within the target range in 2026 and 2027, and supporting sustainable economic growth."Bank Indonesia continues strengthening policies to maintain adequate liquidity in the money market, banking industry and economy, consistent with achieving the inflation target," the statement said.