United States (US) President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington is currently holding talks with Iran, adding that the discussions are taking place at Tehran's request and describing them as a final opportunity for the Islamic Republic.

United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) Quek Ser Leang notes USD/SGD slipped to 1.2809 but closed near 1.2821, with intraday bias still pointing lower.

Geoff Yu at BNY sees Brazil and Mexico operating in a more comfortable policy environment after the Fed decision, with anchored United States (US) front-end yields supporting emerging-market duration.

DBS Group Research economist Ma Tieying notes Taiwan’s 2Q GDP growth slowed to 12.9% year-on-year from 14.5% in 1Q, but remained solid on a quarterly basis.

UOB’s Ho Woei Chen notes that Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed to 4.3% year-on-year in 2Q26, with a 0.6% quarterly contraction after a strong start to 2026. Goods exports remain robust, but consumption and investment growth have moderated.

Standard Chartered economists Hunter Chan and Shuang Ding argue that China’s July data likely showed weaker momentum, with official PMIs for manufacturing, services and construction all below 50 and at multi-year lows.

Nordea economists Kjetil Olsen and Sara Midtgaard expect Norges Bank to leave the policy rate at 4.25% at next week’s meeting. They highlight that June core inflation was well below the Bank’s projection and see July data remaining subdued.

HSBC strategists note that the Federal Reserve (Fed) left policy rates unchanged in July, with markets now assigning a two-thirds probability to a September hike.

The remarks from New York Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank President John Williams, in an interview with Reuters that took place on Friday and was released during the European trading session on Monday, signal that he was confident about inflation returning to the central bank’s 2% target.

Investors are attentive to the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday, as it releases July’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).

EUR/CAD edges lower after opening with a bullish gap, remaining in the positive territory and trading around 1.6180 during the European hours on Monday. The currency cross is holding its ground as the Euro (EUR) remains resilient despite mixed economic data from Germany.

Nomura strategists note that Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed to 0.4% year-on-year in July, helped by weaker car fuel prices and easing imported energy costs.

Chris Turner at ING argues EUR/USD should be performing better given solid Eurozone data, lower Oil prices and Japanese US Dollar (USD) selling, but notes possible US activity in EUR/JPY as a short-term drag.

Deutsche Bank strategists highlight a sharp reassessment of the AI (Artificial intelligence) trade with semiconductor and Korean equities suffering steep monthly losses despite strong YTD gains. European stocks outperformed as sector rotation and solid Eurozone growth supported broader indices.

The remarks from Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, released during the European trading session on Monday, indicates that Tehran is in no discussion with the United States (US) regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint to almost 20% of global energy su

Danske Research Team notes that equity indices have been broadly unchanged over the summer, but sector rotations have been significant. Higher Oil prices supported energy stocks, while within technology, software has outperformed and semiconductors have lagged.

Here is what you need to know on Monday, August 3:

German Retail Sales, a key measure of consumer spending, showed a downside in June. The consumer spending measure fell 1.1% month-on-month (MoM), according to official data released by Destatis, while it was expected to have declined 0.5%. In May, Retail Sales rose by 1.2% (revised from 1.1%)

USD/IDR remains subdued for the fourth successive day, trading around 18,040 during the Asian hours on Monday. The pair experiences notable downside pressure as the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) strengthens in response to encouraging domestic economic indicators.

Asian shares were mixed at the start of a new week as losses in South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 counter improving risk sentiment due to easing Middle East tensions.

AUD/USD depreciates after opening at a bullish gap, remaining in the positive territory and trading around 0.7030 during the Asian hours on Monday.

The NZD/USD pair holds positive ground near 0.5890 during the Asian trading hours on Monday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) remains firm despite the downbeat Chinese economic data.

China's RatingDog Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 50.9 in July from 51.7 in June the latest data published by RatingDog showed on Monday. The market forecast was for a 51.5 reading.

Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs and top foreign exchange official, said that joint intervention could mark the peak of US-Japan currency partnership, Reuters reported on Monday.

Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Monday that Japanese authorities conducted coordinated Yen-buying intervention with the United States (US) on Friday, adding that officials will not hesitate to carry out more foreign exchange (FX) intervention with Washington, Bloomberg reported. 

Australia S&P Global Manufacturing PMI registered at 52 above expectations (51.7) in July

Here’s a brief recap of the key developments in the Middle East war that occurred over the weekend, which are expected to have a significant impact on markets in the upcoming week.

United States CFTC Oil NC Net Positions up to 120.1K from previous 81.7K

United Kingdom CFTC GBP NC Net Positions dipped from previous £-55.6K to £-64.8K

Australia CFTC AUD NC Net Positions dipped from previous $-37.7K to $-40K