WS #8889
BOJ Governor Ueda delivered a hawkish speech, emphasizing upside inflation risks from the Middle East conflict and oil price surge, and signaling readiness to raise rates if second-round effects materialize. This pushed USD/JPY to session lows near 159.40. Meanwhile, the US-Iran conflict escalated sharply: Iran claimed US strikes on its vessel and radar site, announced retaliation with missiles and drones, and an Iranian drone hit Kuwait's main airport. Oil prices rose 2.3% (WTI ~$95.94, Brent ~$98.05). UK final services PMI beat forecasts at 49.3 (vs 47.9 expected). US announced new forced-labor tariffs on 60 countries (10-12.5%). Tesla's China-made EV sales jumped 39.4% YoY in May. Meta lost an EU court fight over Messenger gatekeeper status. DeepSeek eyes $7.4B funding at up to $59B valuation. Alibaba opens Qwen to external apps. Norwegian oil strike threat: 45,500 boe/day cut from June 5. OECD cut global growth outlook to 2.8% on US-Iran war. Bitcoin fell 4.07% to $67,235. The dominant theme is US-Iran conflict escalation (ESCALATING) and BOJ hawkish pivot (NEW).
Key developments
- BOJ Governor Ueda signals readiness to raise rates on oil-driven inflation risks
- Iran announces retaliation with missiles and drones after US strikes; Iranian drone hits Kuwait Airport
- US announces new 10-12.5% tariffs on 60 countries over forced labor
- Tesla China-made EV sales jump 39.4% YoY in May
- Meta loses EU court fight over Messenger gatekeeper status
- DeepSeek eyes $7.4B funding at up to $59B valuation
- Norwegian oil workers threaten strike from June 5, cutting 45,500 boe/day
- OECD cuts global growth outlook to 2.8% on US-Iran war