
Kenyan Inflation Remains Below 5% for Longest Run in 15 Years
Consumer prices rose 3.8% in May, compared with 4.1% in April, the Nairobi-based Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said Friday in a statement. Core inflation accelerated to 2.8%, compared with 2.5% in April.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Asia markets stumble as hot PPI print reins in Fed rate cut hype
By Gregor Stuart Hunter SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Stocks in Asia made an uneven recovery as higher-than-expected producer price inflation dampened expectations of a jumbo rate cut at the Federal Reserve's September meeting, while U.S. bonds and equity futures stabilised. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3% after a report on Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which showed the Producer Price Index increased 0.9% in July on a month-over-month basis, well above economists' expectations. "What it did was to get rid of all the chat about a 50 basis point cut," said Mike Houlahan, director at Electus Financial Ltd in Auckland. The market is currently pricing in a 92.1% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at its September meeting, compared with a 100% likelihood of a cut on Thursday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. The chance of a jumbo 50 basis point cut fell to 0% from an earlier expectation of 5.7% a day ago. U.S. stock futures were flat in early Asian trading after ending a choppy trading session on Wall Street with mild gains on Thursday. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was down 1 basis point at 4.2829%. The two-year yield, which is sensitive to traders' expectations of Fed fund rates, slipped to 3.7304% compared with a U.S. close of 3.739%. Nasdaq futures extended losses into a third consecutive day, sliding 0.1% lower. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, retraced some gains after the PPI data release, last trading down 0.1% at 98.143. The Nikkei 225 rebounded 0.4% after snapping a six-day winning streak on Thursday with its biggest one-day selloff since April 11, as Japanese GDP data showed the economy expanding by an annualised 1.0% in the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates. The dollar weakened 0.3% against the yen to 147.64. Australian shares were last up 0.2%, while stocks in Hong Kong were down 0.9% following losses on Thursday for U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds tracking Chinese companies. The CSI 300 gave up early gains and was last trading flat after the release of weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data for July including retail sales and industrial in India and South Korea are closed for public holidays. Cryptocurrency markets stabilised after a new record for bitcoin of $124,480.82 on Thursday proved fragile and promptly crumbled after falling short of its next key milestone. The digital currency was last up 0.7%, recovering some ground, while ether gained 1.7%. "Bitcoin's failure to conquer the $125,000 resistance signals another consolidation phase," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG in Sydney. In commodities markets, Brent crude was flat at $66.94 per barrel ahead of a meeting in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Gold was slightly lower as the markets digested the path of inflation-adjusted interest rates, which typically move in the opposite direction from bullion prices. Spot gold was trading up 0.1% at $3,339 per ounce. [GOL/] In early European trades, the pan-region futures were up 0.4%, German DAX futures were up 0.3% at 24,489, and FTSE futures were up 0.5%.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Finance Minister says Japan must watch economic backdrop to calls for BOJ rate hike
By Takaya Yamaguchi and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Friday the government must closely watch the economic and price backdrop behind recent business sector calls for the central bank to raise interest rates. But specific monetary policy decisions were up to the Bank of Japan, he said at a news conference. Kato declined to comment when asked about U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks that the BOJ is likely to raise rates and that it was behind the curve in tackling inflation risks. The remarks by Bessent helped push up the yen and Japanese government bond (JGB) yields, as some market players saw an increasing chance of a near-term rate hike by the BOJ. Economic revitalisation minister Ryosei Akazawa said Bessent's comments were not intended to pressure the BOJ into raising borrowing costs. "He absolutely was not calling on the BOJ to raise rates," and was rather predicting it could do so as the bank was behind the curve in addressing inflationary risks, Akazawa told a separate news conference. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Akazawa Says Bessent Isn't Asking Japan to Hike Rates
Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn't directly asking Japan to hike interest rates, a day after Bessent moved markets by describing the Bank of Japan as being behind the curve in fighting inflation. 'I'm looking closely at what he said, but is he really saying he wants Japan to hike rates? He's not,' Akazawa told reporters Friday. 'He's saying he thinks Japan is behind the curve, but Japan will likely continue to hike rates. He's not saying Japan should do something on rates.'