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US long-term yields have bounced back in the second half of the week in erasing much of the drop from the US Treasury announcement. 10-year yields have more or less recovered fully to be back up to 4.704% now while 30-year yields are nudging back up to 5.251% on the day.

However, whether or not yields will look to break higher will depend on the conviction of the bond vigilantes - whom might be still cautious in wanting to challenge the "Bessent put" so quickly.

After the Wednesday announcement to double long-term debt buybacks, Bessent stepped in with some verbal intervention of his own yesterday. In case you missed it: US Treasury Secretary Bessent says the long-dated bond buyback could be more than $4 billion

This all sounds rather…

Gold has been a hot topic this week again, owing much thanks to the US Treasury move on Wednesday. Bessent & co. called to double buybacks at the long-end of the curve and that led to a return of two key tailwinds for gold. That being a fall in the dollar and Treasury yields falling/being suppressed. The latter in particular is quite significant, with Bessent even doubling down on the narrative here.

In essence, it's a signal that there is a clear "Bessent put" in the market right now.

Even though Treasury yields have bounced back up in the past few sessions, we're still seeing gold stay poised as we look to the final stretch this week. The precious metal is up 0.6% to $4,544 as it looks to keep a firm break above the $4,500 level ahead of…

The move signals Korea's intent to convert a cyclical windfall from the global chip upswing into a durable, long term investment vehicle rather than one off spending, which could support sustained capital deployment into strategic technology sectors regardless of near term swings in chip demand. For Korea's semiconductor heavy economy, formalising a channel to reinvest AI driven tax gains back into growth initiatives may reinforce the country's positioning in the broader AI and chip supply chain race, a theme markets have rewarded through 2026. The scale and structure of the fund remain unclear at this stage, so the near term market impact is likely to be limited to sentiment around Korea's long term tech competitiveness rather than an…

The divergence between Japan and Korea on Friday captures how differently regional markets are digesting the same set of global pressures. Japan's slide reflects a fairly direct read-through from rising oil prices and bond yields into inflation and rate expectations, a sensitivity that has been building through the week as Middle East tensions escalate. Korea's reversal, by contrast, shows chip sector strength from overnight US peers outweighing the same macro headwinds that hit Japan, at least for one session, though the index remains on track for a weekly loss overall. With Bessent's sanctions threat adding a fresh layer of uncertainty into an already tense standoff, oil price volatility looks set to remain the dominant swing factor for…

• Asia shares mixed as Nikkei heads for worst week in a month on oil fears
• China vice finance minister signals more fiscal support as economy slows
• USD slammed in Asia Friday: Bitcoin, gold, FX surge as investors hedge against US fiscal credibility concerns
• Goldman veteran Currie ties gold rally to debasement as commodities capture scarcity premium
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.7817 (vs. estimate at 6.7262)
• Bitcoin price forecasts for year 2027
• Flash PMI shows Japan factories leading strongest growth since February
• Once the world's top gold buyer, Russia's central bank now a steady seller
• BOJ seen hiking to 1.25% in September as Japan inflation pressures broaden
• Iran plans oil strikes to hurt Trump before midterms, official says
• <a href="https://investinglive.com/news/japan-july-headline-cpi-1-8-y-y-expected-1-8"…

The intervention fits a well established pattern for the RBI through 2026, stepping in periodically to smooth volatility rather than defend a specific level, typically when USD/INR approaches its record highs. That USD/INR is little changed despite the reported dollar sales suggests the central bank is currently offsetting fresh depreciation pressure rather than driving an outright reversal, consistent with analyst characterisations of the RBI's approach as containing losses rather than reclaiming lost ground. The rupee has lagged the broader Asian currency complex this year, weighed down by elevated oil prices given India's heavy import dependence, persistent foreign portfolio outflows from Indian equities, and periodic friction over US…

Liao Min's comments arrive against a backdrop of a broadening Chinese slowdown, with industrial output and retail sales both missing forecasts in July and officials already weighing fresh stimulus after growth abruptly weakened. The emphasis on timely, incremental measures rather than a large one-off package fits the pattern policymakers have followed through 2026, favouring calibrated support over aggressive stimulus even as deflationary pressure and soft domestic demand persist. Markets sensitive to Chinese demand, including industrial commodities and regional currencies, are likely to parse the comments for confirmation that Beijing is prepared to act rather than simply monitor, though the lack of specific figures or a timeline leaves…

The PBOC allows the yuan to fluctuate within a +/- 2% range, around this reference rate. More here on this.

• PBoC injects 95bn yuan through 7 day reverse repos at 1.4%
• over the week the net draw has been 272 bn yuan

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

Currie's framing positions commodities as the asset class that benefits from both sides of the current macro backdrop, physical scarcity pushing prices higher and financial repression holding yields down artificially. His focus on the diesel crack, which he says settled above 100 dollars a barrel for the first time on record, points to a refining capacity problem distinct from crude supply itself, with implications for downstream costs in freight, agriculture and consumer fuel prices regardless of where crude trades. He argues the usual self-correcting mechanism, where rising yields cool demand and unwind a commodity spike, has broken down because the Treasury is now managing rather than allowing market clearing, a dynamic he says removes…

The dollar's slide reflects a shift from viewing the Treasury's buyback expansion as a stabilising measure to treating it as confirmation of how stretched US fiscal dynamics have become. Bessent's signal that repurchases could increase further, rather than reassuring markets, appears to have reinforced the view that officials are managing a structural problem with tactical tools, a distinction Goldman Sachs has framed explicitly in warning that yield suppression becomes progressively less effective once markets fixate on sovereign financing dynamics rather than technical positioning. The scale of the rotation into gold and bitcoin, with the latter on track for its steepest weekly gain in two and a half years, signals that at least part of…

The data lands squarely within the range the Bank of Japan needs to justify moving in September, with core inflation matching forecasts and the closely watched core-core measure accelerating to 1.9%. The pickup in service sector inflation is arguably the more important signal for policymakers than the headline energy driven move, since it points to firms passing on labour costs in a tight jobs market rather than a one-off pass-through from oil. Wholesale inflation running at 7.2%, with electricity the largest contributor, suggests further upward pressure is still working its way through the pipeline toward consumers, reinforcing the case that price growth has further to run even as government subsidies continue to cap the headline rate.…

The People’s Bank of China is due to set the daily USD/CNY reference rate at around 0115 GMT (2115 US Eastern time), a fixing that remains one of the most closely watched signals in Asian foreign exchange markets. China operates a managed floating exchange rate system, under which the renminbi (yuan) is allowed to trade within a prescribed band around a central reference rate, or midpoint, set each trading day by the PBOC. The current trading band permits the currency to move plus or minus 2% from the official midpoint during onshore trading hours. Each morning, the PBOC determines the midpoint based on a range of inputs. These include the previous day’s closing price, movements in major currencies, particularly the US dollar, broader…