The US Treasury posted a $292.65 billion budget deficit in May compared with the $283.1 billion deficit expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, but smaller than the $315.65 billion budget deficit a year earlier.
The monthly surplus was $215.02 billion in the April tax month.
Through the first eight months of the fiscal year, the deficit was $1.246 trillion, smaller than the $1.364 trillion deficit in the same period a year ago.
Indonesia's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 120.9 points in May from 123.0 points in the previous month, according to the Bank Indonesia consumer survey released Wednesday.The index remained in optimistic territory, sitting above the 100-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism.The shift was driven by a fall in the Current Economic Condition Index, which slid to 112.2 points from 116.5 points, while the Consumer Expectation Index tracking future outlook increased to 129.7 points from 129.6 points.
Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam expressed the city-state's intention to work on a free trade agreement with the East African Community during the former's state visit to Tanzania, according to a release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.The negotiation is the first of its kind for both parties.The EAC comprises eight member states, with the announcement coming on the back of the city-state's push to deepen its ties with African countries.
Three of New Zealand's Central North Island regions recorded all-time high new rental listings in May, according to a report by realestate.co.nz released on Wednesday.New listings in Gisborne doubled year on year, rising 102.2% to 91 in May from 45 in the same period last year, while Hawke's Bay recorded a 26.5% increase with 129 new listings.Manawatū-Whanganui's new listings were up 17% year on year to 399.Meanwhile, Otago recorded 48.9% year-on-year decline in new rental listings, falling to 156 from 305. The region's stock also declined by almost 46.7% in May 2025 to 192 total rental listings.Additionally, Southland's new listings declined by almost 23.7%, although its stock levels increased 6.7% compared to the same time last year.In Wellington, total rental stock fell nearly 24.8% year on year in May to 845 properties from 1,123, and new listings declined 12.1% over the same period to 567 from 645.