ECONOMY & MARKETS

The Australian dollar and the Chinese yuan came under pressure from weak Chinese economic data on Monday, while the U.S. dollar consolidated gains near a 20-year peak.

The U.S. dollar consolidated gains near a two-decade peak on Monday as poor Chinese economic data hurt cyclical currencies including the British pound and the Australian dollar lower.

Asian share markets were attempting a rare rally on Monday after Wall Street managed a bounce from deep lows, though investors were also braced for bad news from Chinese economic data due later in the session.

Asian share markets were struggling to sustain even a minor rally on Monday after shockingly weak data from China underlined the deep damage lockdowns were doing to the world's second-largest economy.

Japan's wholesale prices in April jumped 10% from the same month a year earlier, data showed on Monday, rising at a record rate as the Ukraine crisis and a weak yen pushed up the cost of energy and raw materials.

The front-runner to head Canada's Conservatives and likely challenger to Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is staging a rare series of attacks on the central bank as inflation soars, in a strategy to win party leadership that could hurt his chances in a general election.

Cuba?s ailing economy has begun to recover in some sectors after two years of pandemic-induced contraction but soaring global prices for food and fuel require "audacious" measures to tame inflation, economy minister Alejandro Gil told Cuban lawmakers on Saturday.

Afghanistan faces a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million) this financial year, the country's Taliban authorities said on Saturday without clarifying how the gap between expected revenues and planned spending will be met.

Investors are studying an array of indicators for clues on how much further a brutal slide in U.S.

U.S. consumer sentiment slumped to its lowest level in nearly 11 years in early May as worries about inflation persisted, but household spending remains underpinned by a strong labor market and massive savings, which should keep the economy expanding.

Wall Street rallied on Friday, ending a week of wild market gyrations marked by signs of peaking inflation and worries that the Federal Reserve might tighten policy too aggressively.

Wall Street rallied to end higher on Friday, capping a week of wild market gyrations as relief at signs of peaking inflation vied with fears that policy tightening by the Federal Reserve could tilt the economy into recession.

It's Friday the 13th and more than $10 trillion has now been sliced off the value of global stock markets this year while 'Misery Indexes' that blend inflation and jobless rates are spiking.

As Canada's economy overheats, the Bank of Canada is likely to be among the first of the major central banks to lift interest rates to a more normal setting even as worries persist about record-high levels of household debt, strategists say.

New bank lending in China hit the lowest in nearly four and half years in April as the COVID-19 pandemic jolted the economy and weakened credit demand, central bank data showed on Friday, after it pledged to step up support to ward off a sharper slowdown.

Malaysia's economic growth picked up pace in the first quarter and was likely to accelerate further this year amid sustained demand and the reopening of international borders, the central bank said on Friday.

Malaysia's economic growth picked up pace in the first quarter on recovering demand and a stronger labour market as the global economy rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said on Friday.

Thailand's economy likely grew modestly in the first quarter, thanks to robust exports and an easing of COVID-19 restrictions and despite low tourist arrivals and high inflation dampening consumer spending, a Reuters poll found.

By Carolyn Cohn and Andrew GalbraithLONDON/SHANGHAI - World stocks rose from the previous day's 18-month lows and the dollar pulled back from 20-year highs on Friday, though investors remained nervous about high inflation and the impact of rising interest rates.

U.S. stock index futures rebounded ahead of the Wall Street open on Friday, keeping fears of a bear market at bay, though Twitter shares slid after Elon Musk put his $44 billion deal for the company temporarily on hold.

Asian shares bounced on Friday, but were set for a second straight weekly loss and remained near June 2020 lows, while the dollar hovered near 20-year highs as investors digested worries about strong inflation and tightening central bank policy.

Oil prices rose about 4% on Friday as U.S. gasoline prices jumped to a record high, China looked ready to ease pandemic restrictions and investors worried supplies will tighten if the European Union bans Russian oil.

Oil prices extended gains on Friday but were headed for their first weekly loss in three weeks as worries about inflation and China's COVID lockdowns slowing global growth offset concerns about dwindling fuel supplies from Russia.

Despite global wheat prices trading at record highs for the time of year, market participants may have been too optimistic on the supply outlook for the upcoming year if the U.S.

Calling stable prices the "bedrock" of the economy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the U.S.

A Venezuela-owned tanker in March sailed to a remote spot in the Indian Ocean and met an Iran-flagged vessel, took on a cargo of Iranian condensate and sailed home, according to monitoring services and shipping documents.

As supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China hit Western European markets, Balkan companies are hoping to benefit from their close proximity and low labour costs.

The European Union's plan for countries to buy gas jointly could maximise supplies and ensure better contract terms in the coming years, but is unlikely to help in the event of a sudden supply cut off, analysts and EU officials said.

U.S. stocks ended a whipsaw session slightly lower on Thursday, as investors juggled signs of peaking inflation with fears that it could remain elevated, prompting ever more aggressive tightening from the Federal Reserve.