Second Full Week of October Opens with Several Key Countries Observing Holidays
October 12, 2026
(118) Financial market activity this Monday will be blunted by several holiday observances and a dearth of released economic data. A dual holiday in the United States (Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day) is a federal holiday with banks closed but the stock exchange open. In Japan, Spain and Canada, citizens are celebrating Health Sports Day, National Day and Thanksgiving, respectively.
Once again, there is conflicting news regarding the West Asian wars. President Trump claims that an understanding was reached between Russia and Ukraine not to attack each other’s energy installations. Ukrainian officials are claiming that Russia is not abiding and promising to respond tit-for-tat. There are reports of near-normal shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz but also of a Houthi attack at a large Saudi airport in Riyahd. The price of crude oil ($105.9 on Brent and $92.9 on West Texas Intermediate) are each 1.2% above Friday closing levels. Clashes continue in Southern Lebanon and in the West Bank, all of which speaks to a far-from-resolved situation.
Expanding street protests against the backdrop of an increasingly worrisome fiscal situation in France has put pressure on the euro and euro bloc bonds.
The dollar overnight rose 0.2% against Euroland’s currency, the Japanese yen, Australian dollar and on a weighted basis measured by the DXY index. The dollar is 0.2% softer against the Swiss franc but down 0.3% relative to the peso.
Ten-year sovereign debt yields increased two basis points in Germany and France but edged down a basis point in Spain and Switzerland. Asian Pacific stock markets showed diverse changes to start the week: dives of 3.8% in South Korea, 2.6% in Indonesia, 0.8% in India and 0.4% in China but gains of 0.8% in Australia, 0.6% in New Zealand and 0.3% in Singapore and Hong Kong. European stock market movements have been more homogeneous with 0.6-0.9% rises so far in the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain but just 0.3% in France.
Bitcoin and gold prices have slipped 0.4% and 0.5%.
Consumer price inflation in India accelerated 0.7 percentage points to a 23-month high of 5.5% in September. After peaking at 7.8% in late 2022, such had collapsed to as low as 0.25% in October 2025.
In Serbia, consumer price inflation roughly doubled to a 13-month high of 4.1% last month from 2.2% in August and a 64-month low in July of 1.9%.
Egyptian consumer price inflation slowed to a 9-month low of 13.9% in September. The highest level in at least seven decades (38.0%) was hit three years earlier, and a 42-month low of 11.7% was touched in September 2025.
In Denmark, overall consumer price inflation of 2.2% last month marked a one-year high versus 0.7% back in February before the Iran war started. Core inflation of 1.9% was at a 5-month low, however.
Kazakhstani producer price inflation has imploded from a 45-month high of 17.2% in June to 6.4% last month.
The effects of regional Middle Eastern war on Saudi Arabia‘s economy was showcased in industrial production data reported there today. Industrial production in August posted the largest on-year decline (-23.5%) in 64 months. Production in March-August was down 16.9% year-on-year in contrast to a 16.1% average increase in the first two months of this year.
Turkish retail sales climbed 1.4% in August, lifting the 12-month rate of increase to 10.1% from July’s two-year low of 9.9%.
Chinese car sales fell at a steeper 8.4% year-on-year in September. Such rose 9.4% in calendar 2025.
The IMF/World Bank meetings hosted in Bangkok, Thailand are now underway. The World Economic Outlook with updated macroeconomic forecasts for a slew of economies around the world will be released tomorrow.
Copyright 2026, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved.
Tags: holidays today, Indian CPI, Iran war news, Saudi idustrial production
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