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Short, verified market news summaries; every item names its source and publication date.
New Zealand Raises Rates as Signs Point to New Global Monetary Tightening Wave
New Zealand's central bank raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (10 Shahrivar 1405). Per Ecoiran, European Central Bank governing council member and Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel said the same day the ECB will raise rates next week, with eurozone inflation running at 3.3 percent. In the US, the 10-year Treasury yield rose 16 basis points to 4.812 percent, while in Japan, Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said an interest-rate increase larger than 25 basis points is possible at the bank's next meeting.
Ecoiran
Dollar Holds Near Two Week High as Yen Slips Past 160; G20 Finance Meeting Eyes Iran Sanctions Coordination
According to Reuters, in a report carried by Shafaq News early Monday, 9 Shahrivar 1405 (August 31, 2026), the US dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, held near a two week high at 99.6, after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium pushed traders to raise their bets on a September rate hike. Markets priced the probability of a September Fed rate hike at 57 percent, the report said, while the two year US Treasury yield rose to a more than one month high of 4.33 percent. At the same time, the Japanese yen slipped past the psychologically important 160 per dollar level, trading at 160.01, a threshold the report said has again put the risk of official intervention by Tokyo and Washington in the spotlight. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that recent yen moves had been "pretty well contained." Dollar demand was also supported by Brent crude's nearly 2 percent rise after the US strike on Iran's Larak Island on Sunday, the report said. Market attention is now turning to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in the United States on Monday and Tuesday, 9 and 10 Shahrivar, where the report said observers will watch for signs of coordinated efforts to sever economic ties with Iran. Swings in the dollar index and US Treasury yields feed directly into global gold prices and, through them, into Iran's domestic coin and currency markets.
Shafaq News, citing Reuters
The US Treasury stepped into the currency market to support the yen, Washington's first such action since 2011
The Financial Times reported that the US Treasury stepped into the currency market on Friday, 31 July 2026, to support the Japanese yen, marking Washington's first intervention alongside Tokyo in support of Japan's currency in more than a decade, with the yen languishing near 40-year lows. According to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducted a sale of euros to buy yen on behalf of the Treasury through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The report did not indicate any amount of yen purchased. The US Treasury's last direct support for the yen was in 2011, when Washington coordinated with fellow Group of Seven nations to stabilise markets after Japan's earthquake and tsunami. Earlier the same day, the US Treasury had informed a number of banks that it might intervene in the yen market and that they should "stand ready for future action", a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. A Reuters photograph of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland showed he was contemplating purchases of $5 billion to $10 billion worth of Japanese yen. The notepad in the photo, taken over Bessent's shoulder during an on-the-record portion of the meeting, bears the underscored words "To Do" followed by "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil". The Treasury, the New York Fed and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. News of the potential intervention pushed the yen higher against the dollar. LSEG data showed the US dollar fell from about 158.9 yen to about 157.6 yen in late Friday trading, a drop of roughly 0.8 percent. Bank of Japan data released on Friday also indicated Tokyo may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday, 30 July. The dollar index is among the variables affecting the world gold price, and through it Iran's gold and currency markets.
The Straits Times, citing Reuters and Financial Times
Fed's Semiannual Report to Congress: US Inflation Still Notably Above 2% Target
The US Federal Reserve submitted its first semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress under Chair Kevin Warsh on Friday, July 10, 2026 (19 Tir 1405). The report states that US inflation has remained notably above the Fed's 2% target over the past year, though trimmed-mean inflation gauges have eased somewhat. The Fed attributed part of the inflation rise to the Iran war and US trade tariffs. It described economic growth as "solid" and productivity as "strong," and assessed banking-system risk as low. The Fed pledged to "deliver price stability." The report sets the stage for Warsh's congressional testimony next week.
Federal Reserve Board
Dollar Index Nears 101 as Fed's Waller Reaffirms Commitment to 2% Inflation Target
The US Dollar Index (DXY) traded around the 101 level in the week to July 10, 2026 (19 Tir 1405), near its highest since May 2025. Fed Governor Christopher Waller described the central bank's commitment to its 2 percent inflation target as "credible," saying monetary policy risks have "flipped around" as the labor market stabilizes while inflation has risen. The dollar's strength has come alongside renewed Iran-US tensions and could weigh on gold and emerging-market currencies.
FXStreet
Fed September Rate-Hike Odds Jump to 68.8% as Iran War Reignites Inflation Fears
Per Forbes (July 8, 2026), after US strikes on Iran resumed and Trump declared the ceasefire "over," the market implied probability of a Fed rate hike at the September 15-16 meeting, per CME Group's FedWatch tool, jumped from 62% on Tuesday, July 7, to 68.8% on Wednesday, July 8. The odds of a hike by the December meeting reached 85.3%. The jump came after Trump told the NATO summit in Ankara he believed the ceasefire with Iran was over and that the US would likely strike again that night. Analysts attribute the rise in rate hike odds to inflation concerns from surging oil prices, which could strengthen the dollar and pressure emerging markets, including Iran's.
Forbes