President Nausėda on the evening of the 25th nominated Social Democratic chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius as candidate for prime minister. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the new government on the 30th. The Ruginienė government resigned on the 23rd and is serving in a caretaker capacity. Under Lithuanian law the new PM is proposed by the Social Democratic Party, which holds the largest number of seats in parliament.

US initial jobless claims fell 12,000 to 215,000 in the week ended June 20, the Department of Labor said Thursday, below FactSet consensus of 225,000. The four-week moving average rose 750 to 224,250. Continuing claims for the week ended June 13 rose 21,000 to 1.82 million. Despite economic headwinds, layoffs remain at low levels.

The Baltic Dry Index fell 43 points, or 1.6%, to 2,591 on Thursday, its lowest since April 17, weighed by drops in Capesize and Supramax rates. The Baltic Capesize Index fell 123 points, or 3.1%, to 3,827; Capesize average daily earnings dropped $1,117 to $31,205. The Baltic Panamax Index rose 25 points, or 1.2%, to 2,096, with Panamax daily earnings up $224 to $18,865. The Baltic Supramax Index fell 15 points, or 0.9%, to 1,678, its lowest since June 15.