White House: (asked about reports that South Africa secretly provided arms to Russia) We have been strongly urging countries not to provide arms to Russia. There will be no diplomatic discussions on (South Africa) supplying arms to Russia, "this is a serious issue."

Congressional Budget Office: If the debt ceiling is not increased, the United States will face a significant risk of payment default in the first two weeks of June.

White House: Biden nominates Fed Governor Lisa Cook for a second 14-year term.

EUR/USD is down 0.50% on the day and is now at 1.0861.

Fitch: The current gap between inflation rates in the UK, US and Eurozone is large, but this gap will close soon.

According to the Kremlin quoted by the Tass news agency: Putin told the South African president that Russia has no option to reject the "diplomatic approach" to solve the Ukraine problem.

Fitch: Services to prolong UK inflation problems as energy prices fall.

According to the Kremlin quoted by the Tass news agency: Putin told the South African president that Russia is ready to provide grain and fertilizer to African countries, including the option of free delivery.

According to TASS, citing the Kremlin: Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of involving African leaders in talks on the "situation in Ukraine".

US Defense Department spokesman Kirby: The United States does not seek conflict with Iran.

US Department of Defense spokesman Kirby: US President Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez will meet and discuss support for Ukraine.

White House: The U.S. Department of Defense will strengthen its defense layout in the Gulf region on Friday.

White House: The United States has repeatedly been threatened by Iran against its commercial shipping.

Bank of Canada: The tightening of Canadian business lending conditions is expected to hit a new high since 2020.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose to a session high of 3.444%.

Mortgage origination conditions tightened in the first quarter, according to a survey of senior lending executives from the Bank of Canada.

Russian Ministry of Defense: A Russian military helicopter crashed during a training flight in Crimea.

[Head of Wagner: The situation of the Russian army in Bakhmut continues to deteriorate] Prigozin, the founder of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, severely criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense, saying that the situation of the Russian army in Bakhmut is deteriorating. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense acknowledged that its forces had retreated from the northern region of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakmut, claiming they had moved to more favorable defensive positions. Prigozin said that "such euphemistic rhetoric is a gimmick" and the Russian Ministry of Defense must "stop lying." He called it a "non-tactical retreat", which simply means that some troops of the Russian Ministry of Defense escaped from the flank and left towards the Berkhivka reservoir (Berkhivka). He warned: "In general, this retreat has caused the Russian army to lose 5 square kilometers of positions in just one day. The Ukrainian army will maintain a distance of 500 meters from Bakhmut, or will occupy all tactical high ground, and has completely Recaptured the key supply route from Chasif Yar to Bakhmut". Prigozin also reiterated his earlier complaints about the lack of Ministry of Defense support as their flank collapsed.