A wildfire in rural Texas expanded to more than 200 sq km, and local emergency management ordered residents to evacuate on Aug. 25 local time. The fire began the afternoon of Aug. 24 and has swept across north-central Texas. Persistent extreme dryness has driven increased wildfire activity across the southern and western US; the National Interagency Fire Center reported more than a dozen new large fires on Aug. 23 and said the US has recorded over 50,000 wildfires so far this year, the most for

A Bank of Japan consumer-price gauge excluding fresh food and a range of government measures rose 2.3% YoY in July, above the BOJ’s 2% target and reinforcing market expectations of a September rate increase. By contrast, the Japanese government’s core CPI excluding fresh food rose 1.8% YoY. The figures are from the new suite of price indicators introduced by Ueda in March to track underlying inflation. Higher energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict are lifting firms’ input costs, which are being passed on to consumers, supporting the BOJ’s view that upside inflation risks warrant vigilance. Market pricing assigns roughly an 80% probability to a September hike.

Agricultural Bank of China’s London branch issued a RMB 300 mln, 3-month Shanghai Free Trade Zone offshore bond in the form of a European Certificate of Deposit (ECD) at a 1.55% rate. It is the first Shanghai FTZ offshore bond issued by a UK institution and the first in Europe to be registered, custodied and settled via China Central Depository & Clearing Co. (CCDC). The transaction used Agricultural Bank Group’s onshore-offshore coordination and provides a template for UK institutions seeking RMB funding channels.