Gold has held the key $4,000-per-ounce support level for five consecutive weeks but has failed to sustain gains above $4,100. Over the same period, escalating conflict in Iran lifted oil to a nine-week high, reinforcing inflation concerns. Markets are not expected to see a rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, but the implied probability of a September hike has risen to about 66%. Investors are also watching the Bank of Japan’s July 31 meeting for a potential hawkish surprise as the yen slid to a 40-year low, while the U.S. is considering 10%–12.5% tariffs on major trading partners that could add second-round inflation pressure.

Japan said medium and heavy rare earth elements accounted for about 54% of the total rare earth content in mud lifted from the deep seabed near Minamitorishima island. Around 50 metric tons of mud were recovered, and the analysis identified elements including yttrium, gadolinium and dysprosium, according to the Cabinet Office’s national platform for innovative ocean development. The effort comes as Japan looks to diversify supplies amid China’s export controls on some heavy rare earths and related magnets introduced in April 2025 and later tightened for Japan. Japan plans a month-long large-scale mining trial starting in February 2027, targeting 350 tons of mud a day, with an industrialization assessment due by March 2028.

The U.S. Treasury Department kept South Korea on its currency monitoring list for a fourth consecutive report in its July 2026 semiannual review, saying the won’s sustained weakness does not match the country’s strong fundamentals. It cited South Korea’s 6.6% of GDP current account surplus and a $45 billion goods and services surplus with the United States, while noting the Bank of Korea was a net seller of $28 billion in foreign exchange in 2025. Treasury also said large, largely unhedged overseas investments by South Korean households and institutions added to depreciation pressure on the won. The move does not designate South Korea a currency manipulator but signals continued U.S. policy concern over the won’s depreciation trend, according to the report.

President Trump announced new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 nations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, citing forced labor, and threatened additional tariffs on the European Union. He also said he is considering what he described as a “massive attack” on Iran. Chip stocks sold off sharply, with SOXX down more than 4% and the Nasdaq 100 down 1.27% as Intel fell more than 7% despite a strong Q3 revenue outlook, while Arm, Marvell and Micron dropped more than 5%.

Crypto hedge fund Strategy said it has disclosed a return threshold for its Bitcoin portfolio, below which it could be forced to initiate a restructuring process. The disclosure did not include specific figures, a time horizon, or the size of the assets involved, but it explicitly ties Bitcoin performance to the stability of the firm’s capital structure. As a digital-asset-focused institution, the prospect of a restructuring has raised concerns about how its holdings might be handled, though there is no public information indicating the threshold has been breached or that any default has occurred.

WestJet flight attendants, represented by CUPE Local 8125, have authorized strike action by a 99.4% vote, with job action set to begin as early as Aug. 2. The union says the central issue is ending what it describes as roughly 35 hours of unpaid required duties each month. A strike during the August long weekend travel period could trigger widespread flight cancellations. WestJet is allowing a one-time free change or cancellation for flights booked between July 30 and Aug. 4.

The U.S. imposed higher tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners as military tensions involving Iran escalated in the Middle East, driving investors toward safe-haven assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up while the Nasdaq Composite fell, and Europe’s STOXX 600 rebounded slightly. U.S. Treasury yields climbed to multidecade highs as markets priced in the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike.

Mali’s mines ministry plan shows the country’s industrial gold production is expected to remain below 60 tons a year from 2026 to 2029, peaking at 57 tons in 2028 versus a record 66.5 tons in 2023. Output has been pressured by the 2023 mining code and disputes with foreign miners including Barrick, contributing to a drop to 42.2 tons in 2025. Over the same period, industrial gold reserves are projected to fall from 906.8 tons in 2026 to 748.6 tons in 2029.