Deutsche Securities says the BOJ faces a communications crossroads: it must choose to keep current forward‑guidance wording or recharacterize the degree of monetary ease. If wording is unchanged, a move to a 1.25% policy rate would create a new challenge in justifying further hikes; with the BOJ’s estimated lower bound of the nominal neutral rate at about 1.1% and the policy rate already near 1.0%, policy above ~1.1% would be difficult to describe as accommodative.

German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) welcomes European Parliament approval of EU‑US trade agreement.

Lyon Securities said easing Middle East tensions pushed oil down to $85/bbl but, despite market expectations of a return to ~$70, damage to production facilities and infrastructure bottlenecks mean global supply is unlikely to recover to pre-conflict levels within 6–12 months. The bank now expects H2 oil to remain above $80/bbl (1H average $94). It forecasts Chinese oil producers will post their strongest earnings and cash flow in years, with PetroChina (00857.HK) and CNOOC (00883.HK) Q2 EPS seen rising about 50% YoY. Lyon views PetroChina and CNOOC as relatively defensive amid volatility given solid fundamentals and roughly 7% dividend yields. Lyon assigns OUTPERFORM to the three state oil majors, preferring PetroChina, then CNOOC, then Sinopec (00386.HK); price targets: PetroChina HK$12, CNOOC HK$36, Sinopec HK$4.9. The bank says CNOOC's removal from a US-related list could trigger re-rating, while Sinopec's Q2 profit may face headwinds.