News

(1) New Zealand's GDP grew by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, meeting expectations; the year-on-year increase was 1.5%, higher than the market forecast of 1.1%. The Q4 GDP growth rate was revised up to 0.5% (initial value was 0.2%). Manufacturing was the main driver, with growth seen in 9 out of 16 industries. (2) Economists at Westpac Bank indicate that the central bank may focus more on economic trends after March, particularly the impact of surging fuel prices on economic activity, the effect of falling oil prices on inflation persistence, and whether peace agreements can be maintained. (3) Since August 2024, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut rates by a cumulative 325 basis points, with the current interest rate held at 2.25%. The market expects about an 80% probability of a rate hike in July. Inflation stands at 3.1%, still above the 1%-3% target range. Weak net migration, a cooling housing market, tightening fiscal policy, and downside risks from Middle East conflicts continue to pressure the economy. Both the central bank and the Ministry of Finance anticipate that second-quarter economic growth has already been affected by the Middle East war.

BlockBeats News, June 18, according to monitoring by Lookonchain, former world boxing champion and billionaire Andrew Tate suffered 8 forced liquidations in the past 16 hours. He was first liquidated while going long on BTC, then was liquidated again after flipping short on BTC. Currently, his account balance is only $14,219.

Looking ahead, Huatai Securities maintains its previous assessment that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged before September. The probability of a rate hike in December at the end of the year is close to 50%, and there may be a total of two rate hikes by the end of next year.