Eurozone consumers cut spending on food, drinks and tobacco for the second straight month in May amid a spike of prices, according to estimates from the European Union statistics office Eurostat released on Wednesday.

China’s crude oil imports from Russia soared 55 per cent from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices rose Wednesday after suffering a painful drop the previous day, though the euro remained wedged at a 20-year low and equities mostly fell in Asia as recession fears continue to flow through trading floors.

Britain’s new finance minister Nadhim Zahawi pledged on Wednesday to rebuild and grow the struggling economy and said he would look at all options to do that, including possible tax cuts.

Norway and Sweden have joined the ranks of central banks opting for 50 basis-point interest rate rises, delivering their biggest policy tightening moves in two decades.

New Zealand’s business confidence continued to worsen in the second quarter of this year as companies grappled with increased costs and higher interest rates, a private think tank said on Tuesday.

Inflation in Turkey in June soared to an annual rate of 78.6 per cent -- the highest in 24 years, according to official data released Monday -- as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies continued to take their toll.

By some early estimates, the US economy, as measured by gross domestic product, may have shrunk in the three months from April through June. Add that to the decline from January through March, and that would be a contraction for two quarters in a row.

Russia’s invasion of agricultural power Ukraine has severely disrupted the global wheat market, prompting warnings that the conflict could lead to hunger in some countries.

Zimbabwe’s central bank said it would start selling gold coins this month as a store of value to tame runaway inflation, which has considerably weakened the local currency.

Germany recorded its first monthly trade deficit since 1991 in May as a result of higher import prices, figures released Monday show.

Oil rose on Monday as supply concerns driven by lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and sanctions on Russia outweighed fears of demand-sapping global recession.

The European Central Bank on Monday unveiled plans to integrate climate change into its monetary policy in a bid to encourage eurozone businesses to pay more attention to their environmental impact.

The euro flattened on Monday, staying near a five-year low against the US dollar, as investors sought safety in the greenback amid worries about slowing global growth.

From a $360 million project to expand Zambia’s international airport in Lusaka to a $1.4 billion city port in Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo, China is the missing piece in the puzzle of a number of debts talks under way in developing markets.

For foreign companies still working out what to do with their stranded Russian assets, President Vladimir Putin’s seizure of a major oil and gas project is a powerful warning: Move fast or else.

Automobile industry officials from Iran, Russia and Turkey are considering joint car design and manufacture after sanctions on Moscow and Tehran put the brakes on production, Iran’s state media reported.

Ukraine has started exporting electricity to the European Union, via Romania, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Russia reduces gas supplies to the bloc which is supporting Kyiv in resisting Moscow’s invasion.

China’s manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest in 13 months in June, buoyed by a strong rebound in output, as the lifting of Covid lockdowns sent factories racing to meet recovering demand, a private sector poll showed on Friday.

Turkey on Friday substantially raised the minimum wage for the second time in a year to cushion the blow from soaring cost of living increases ahead of next year’s general election.