BHP and the Combined Ports Unions representing workers at Port Hedland, Western Australia, said on Tuesday talks had made progress but no final agreement was reached. The unions said negotiations will continue on July 28; the progress reduces the likelihood of fresh strike action before then. BHP said its focus remains on reaching a fair, reasonable agreement and making constructive progress.

COMMERZBANK FX strategist says rising Middle East tensions and higher energy prices make a firm ECB signal of willingness to hike further euro-positive. He expects the ECB to hold this week but to raise rates again in September; if the US‑Iran conflict escalates, explicit ECB readiness to continue hiking after September would be decisive in limiting EUR/USD downside. Mitsubishi UFJ strategists see a very low probability of back‑to‑back ECB hikes this week and note even hawks such as Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel favor a hold; the energy-price rebound supports a +25bp September hike call. Euro‑area rate markets are nearly fully pricing two more ECB hikes by year‑end, pushing short-term rates back toward this year’s highs, while softer US inflation has reduced the passthrough from energy to Fed hike odds, shifting yield differentials in the euro’s favor.

巴林军方表示，周二拦截了伊朗的攻击。