Weekend briefing: US vacillates over deal with Iran

US trade deficit stays high; Chicago PMI gets stockpiling boost; Canada close to recession; Japan sentiment and retail rise; Taiwan posts outsized GDP growth; UST 10yr at 4.43%; gold firms again; oil lower; NZ$1 = 59.9 USc; TWI-5 = 63.3

Weekend briefing: US vacillates over deal with Iran. Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand with news the US has still not signed off on the tentative negotiated US-Iran deal. Markets are assuming they will however. And that is despite the mixed signals coming from the White House as the conflict enters its fourth month. Meanwhile, the US trade deficit widened to -US$82.4 bln in April for merchandise trade, and back to similar to what it was between 2021 to 2025, except for the rush period to beat the tariffs. For the five years prior to that is was averaging -US$65 bln/month. Beating the post-tariff and Strait of Hormuz stress as seen the US Chicago PMI showing the stockpiling frenzy on full display. It surged in May to its highest in over four years. The sharp recovery in the index reflected fresh tr...