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According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), total retail sales in the UK rose by 3.1% in June compared to the same period last year. The surge was partly driven by hot weather, which encouraged purchases of fans, sports equipment, and leisure items.

Australia’s consumer confidence improved in July as households grew more optimistic about their finances, even after the country’s Reserve Bank (RBA) unexpectedly held interest rates steady last week, Bloomberg reports.

According to Bernstein experts, investors should prepare for a prolonged rally in the crypto market. They say the current bullish cycle will be “quite long and exhausting,” and its driving force will be institutional adoption of blockchain technology.

An increase of the indicator value may contribute to the rise in quotes of Zinc, Nickel, Palladium, Aluminium, Copper, CNY.

According to a survey of experts conducted by BNN Bloomberg, inflation in Canada is expected to rise to 1.8–2.0% in July. This is due to increasing prices of goods subject to tariffs imposed by the US.

According to UBS, copper imports to the US will decline sharply in the coming months due to the accumulation of excess inventories prior to the implementation of 50% tariffs on August 1.

Bloomberg reports that the Bank of Japan is considering raising its inflation forecast for this fiscal year. Food prices, including rice, have risen faster than expected, and oil costs have also increased.

Bank of America recommends buying the Australian dollar against the US dollar at a rate of 0.6546, with a target level of 0.69 and a stop loss at 0.6350.

Options traders are adjusting their yen forecasts in anticipation of its decline against the dollar, driven by political instability in Japan, global trade tensions, and potential shifts in US Federal Reserve policy, Bloomberg reports.

Data compiled by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) shows that British companies reduced their workforce in June at the sharpest rate in two years. The decline suggests that the tax hikes on employers continue to weigh on the labor market.