UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said lasting stability in southern Lebanon hinges on strengthening Lebanese state institutions, notably the Lebanese Armed Forces.

US API crude oil imports -180,000 barrels in week to June 26; prior +226,000 barrels.

Former Bank of Japan executive Kenzo Yamamoto said the next BOJ rate increase is likely to occur before December, sooner than the December move most economists expect. He pointed to a BOJ measure of potential inflation excluding fresh food and state aid that has averaged about 3% over the past four years, above the 2% target. By contrast, Japan’s core CPI excluding only fresh food was 1.4% in May, a level Yamamoto attributed largely to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cost-of-living relief measures; the BOJ says price trends remain slightly below 2%. Yamamoto added he would be concerned if the BOJ treated the potential-inflation measure as unreflective of price trends and said policy should shift toward reining in inflation.