Christopher Waller again called for lower interest rates, saying he would support a quarter-percentage point reduction in September and anticipates additional cuts over the next three to six months.

The BOK said in a statement that it maintains its rate cut stance, but would hold rates for the time being as it monitors household debt risks and the impact of US tariffs.

A deflationary spiral that has eroded corporate pricing power in the world’s second-largest economy is one of the biggest reasons to doubt the sustainability of the current rally.

Another serious blow to the economy or a steep downgrade in the inflation outlook, though unlikely, could still convince officials to lower rates once more this year, they said.

All three indexes were bolstered after Mr Powell flagged the risks of higher inflation and a weakening jobs market at a central bankers conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The BOJ in 2024 exited a decade-long, massive stimulus and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5 per cent in January on the view Japan was close to durably hitting its 2 per cent inflation target.

“It is also possible, however, that the upward pressure on prices from tariffs could spur a more lasting inflation dynamic, and that is a risk to be assessed and managed.”

“Higher interest rates have eroded the real-world purchasing power of the typical American household,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist.

The British central bank expects inflation to peak at 4 per cent in September, double its 2 per cent target, on the back of higher food costs but to drop back after that.

Chair Jerome Powell said that the inflationary impact from tariffs could well be temporary, but the central bank needed to guard against a more persistent effect.

Malaysia’s ringgit is poised to restart a rally, potentially hitting its strongest level against the US dollar in almost a year, as analysts see a dovish central bank and fiscal pledges boosting sentiment.

A US$10,000 investment in the S&P 500 Index a decade ago would now have more than tripled in value, while the same amount in China’s CSI 300 benchmark would have added just around US$3,000.