Anshun bridge reflecting in the Jinjiang river at dusk in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
© Philippe Lejeanvre | Moment Open | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday as investors assessed China data and monitored escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
The People’s Bank of China expectedly kept its loan rates unchanged at 3.0% for the 1-year loan prime rate and 3.5% for the 5-year LPR.
Investors are also monitoring the Israel-Iran conflict as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs on whether to back the Israeli military and strike Tehran. The White House said that he will make a final decision within the next two weeks.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was 0.13% higher while the broader Topix index was flat.
The country’s core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, its highest level since January 2023. The metric — which strips out costs for fresh food — was higher than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and is above April’s print of 3.5%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index increased by 0.51% while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.41%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.49% in choppy trade.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 23,185, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s close of 23,237.74.
U.S. stock futures fell in early Asian hours as investors investors pored through the latest developments in the Middle East.
Overnight stateside, regular trading was closed for the Juneteenth holiday.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans contributed to this report.
South Korea’s producer price index edges up 0.3% in May
South Korea’s wholesale inflation rate rose 0.3% year on year in May compared to 0.8% the month before.
This is the lowest growth in prices since they fell in July 2023, according to LSEG data.
The preliminary figures from the Bank of Korea released on Friday show that lower print was due to decline in sectors such as agricultural foods, coal and petroleum and financial and insurance activities.
On a month-on-month basis, the producer price index fell 0.4% in May, compared to April’s 0.2% drop.
— Amala Balakrishner
Rice prices in Japan more than double in May as core inflation jumps to highest levels since 2023
Rice prices in Japan more than doubled in May, spiking 101.7% year over year and marking its largest increase in over half a century.
The huge spike follows a 98.4% increase in April, and a rise of 92.1% year over year in March.
Japan’s rice prices have been in the spotlight in recent times, with the government releasing emergency stockpiles to moderate the price of the country’s staple food.
The surge in rice prices comes as Japan’s core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, marking its highest level since January 2023.
Read the full story, here.
— Lim Hui Jie
