Macro

Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.4% in June, in line with expectations, even as 76,000 people started a new job and the participation rate edged up to 67%. Inflation remains at 4.0%, above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2–3% target range. Economists expect the jobless rate to rise to 4.6% by year-end, while renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz add uncertainty to the inflation outlook. The figures underscored signs of a tight labour market, influencing the Australian dollar and government bond yields, but did not provide an immediate catalyst for spot trading.

A Goldman Sachs report says Turkey’s policy focus has shifted from “cutting rates” to “repairing external imbalances,” and that policymakers will tolerate faster lira depreciation to lift real rates while inflation takes a back seat. The approach implies the USD/TRY exchange rate could strengthen markedly in the near term. It also suggests the central bank may later move its policy-rate corridor sharply higher. The piece frames the shift as a change in policy narrative rather than routine fine-tuning.

Nigeria’s central bank kept its Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5% and maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio at 45%, saying the naira should be determined by market forces rather than propped up. The IMF has assessed the naira as still about 25.6% undervalued versus economic fundamentals. Headline inflation edged down to 15.91% in June, while food inflation rose to 17.52%. The central bank flagged escalating conflict in the Middle East as the biggest external risk, warning it could lift energy prices and feed into domestic inflation.

U.S. June core CPI rose 2.6% YoY, below the 2.8% market forecast, with the data released on Jul 14. The softer print strengthened expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts and helped push crypto spot ETF flows from negative to positive. Over the following five trading sessions, the ETFs posted $866.7M in net inflows, including BTC at +$712.7M and ETH at +$154.0M.

Bitcoin rose above $66,000 as total U.S. federal debt climbed to $39.5 trillion. The article says the debt level sets up a key liquidity test for Bitcoin on Aug. 3. It frames the move as a short-term link between fiscal pressure and crypto pricing, with no mention of regulatory changes, on-chain events, or protocol-level developments.

Big Tech stocks and Bitcoin rebounded as market gamma pressure eased, according to ZeroHedge. The report also described U.S. Treasury yields and crude oil prices moving higher alongside the rebound. It did not specify a timestamp, the magnitude of the moves, or underlying data sources.

The Federal Reserve began expanding its balance sheet in July 2026 for the first time since 2020, planning to buy $27.6 billion in short-term Treasury bills over three weeks. The last time the Fed took this step, $BTC was priced below $10,000.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is pressing ahead with foreign-exchange market reforms—ranging from unifying rate windows to tighter oversight and improved official-market liquidity—helping to sharply narrow the gap between official and parallel naira rates. External reserves have risen above $50 billion, while foreign portfolio inflows have increased, lifting confidence in the currency. The report does not cite specific listed stocks, indices or commodity futures contracts, but points to firmer naira stability and improved macro credibility for the oil-exporting economy as an indirect support for oil prices and emerging-market risk appetite.

Nigeria’s food inflation rose to 17.52% in June 2026, even as headline inflation edged down to 15.91%. Consumers say they are coping by buying food daily, switching to small packs and choosing cheaper substitutes, reshaping diets and household spending. With food accounting for more than half of the Consumer Price Index, families say tighter budgets are crowding out spending on healthcare, education and other essentials. High logistics costs, weak infrastructure and security risks on transport routes continue to keep food prices elevated, while analysts warn supply constraints are adding pressure to the naira and locally focused consumer assets.

The U.S. Treasury market is intensifying the global selloff in equities and other risk assets, with Bitcoin falling under added pressure. The move reflects a rapid rise in Treasury yields that is tightening system-wide liquidity and reversing risk appetite. As a high-beta crypto asset, BTC tends to be highly rate-sensitive and often reacts first when Treasuries become more volatile. The decline is framed as the result of Treasury-market transmission rather than a single event or any on-chain abnormality.