Amazon’s Prime Day generated about $26.4 billion in U.S. online retail spending, up 9% year over year, with an estimated $7 billion to $8 billion of sales pulled into the second quarter from the third. On the cloud side, AWS implemented a roughly 20% price increase effective July 1 for certain GPU-heavy EC2 Capacity Blocks, after a prior 15% hike in January. Bank of America said the adjustment could add an estimated 1–2 percentage points to second-half AWS growth as large customers such as OpenAI and Anthropic expand commitments on AWS. The firm lifted its expectations for Amazon’s second-half growth and profitability, even as AMZN shares have been under near-term pressure.

A survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) found that 51% of central banks plan to increase gold reserves, a record high, citing rising geopolitical risk and concerns about the stability of the international monetary system. Over the same period, the dollar’s share of reserves fell to a 20-year low, while the euro and the renminbi gained appeal. The results point to stronger systemic demand for safe havens that is supporting gold allocations and price momentum.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has used the Judgment Fund to pay TotalEnergies, Invenergy and Duke Energy more than $2.7 billion in public money in exchange for canceling multiple offshore wind developments and redirecting investment toward natural gas and other fossil-fuel generation. The projects affected span lease areas off New York and New Jersey, California, Maine and the Carolina Long Bay area. Courts have previously ruled similar uses of the mechanism illegal, but the funds have already been disbursed. The moves mark a sharp shift in energy-policy execution that directly benefits natural-gas demand and provides indirect support for crude oil.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said in Sintra, Portugal, that the central bank is running simulations on how AI-driven trading could amplify volatility if multiple systems try to place similar trades at the same time. The Bank is studying tools such as an AI “kill switch” and enhanced circuit breakers to limit or halt trading across markets if faulty models trigger a meltdown, working with Germany’s Bundesbank and the Bank for International Settlements. The work is tied to a cautious assessment of “agentic” AI becoming embedded in trading systems. The discussions remain at the research and policy stage, with no new rules or implementation timetable announced.

Global oil supply risks appear to be easing, pressuring crude prices as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz returns to prewar levels of 30–40 vessels a day. Crude exports from the Persian Gulf have recovered to at least 75% of prewar levels, while the four-week average of Russian crude exports has climbed to 4.13 million bpd. OPEC+ has confirmed a 188,000 bpd output increase for June and said it plans to complete the return of halted production by the end of September. Even with U.S. inventories still below seasonal norms, the broader pickup in supply is weighing on sentiment, leaving WTI weaker while RBOB gasoline trades firmer.

The dollar rose to 162.41 yen, the highest level since 1986, while the yen slid to a four-decade low on Tuesday. Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said authorities were ready to take “appropriate action” if needed, adding to expectations of FX intervention. The dollar index stood at 101.32 and was on track for a 1.4% gain in the second quarter, as widening U.S.-Japan rate differentials and renewed rate-hike expectations continued to weigh on the yen.

More graduate students will face higher federal student loan caps than previously anticipated following a court ruling last week. Beginning July 1 under President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill act,” new graduate students would be capped at $20,500 a year, while “professional” students can borrow up to $50,000. On Monday, the Education Department released an updated list of over 20 professional degrees eligible for the higher limit during the court’s stay. The list includes registered nursing, physician associates and speech-language pathology.

Palantir said it has struck a strategic partnership with Nvidia to deploy open AI models inside classified and airgapped U.S. government systems by integrating Nvidia’s Blackwell Ultra GPUs and Nemotron open-source models with Palantir’s AIP and other platforms. The companies did not disclose specific agency customers or financial terms, describing the move as a productized follow-on from earlier demonstrations tied to Nvidia’s GTC event and the “Chain Reaction” program. Palantir reported Q1 revenue of $1.63 billion, up 85% year on year, including $687 million from the U.S. government, up 84%.