Taiwan's export order data, published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, delivered the most striking real-economy reading of the month. Total orders reached $103.0bn in August 2026. That is the largest August figure since records began in 1984. The previous August peak was $60.1bn, set in 2025. Orders by product group, by destination, and the total measured in New Taiwan dollars all simultaneously set August records according to the same dataset.
Canadian banks reported business loans of CAD 3.16tn in July 2026, the largest July total since the Bank of Canada series began in 1996. A year earlier the figure stood at CAD 2.94tn. The same filing round showed personal loans and uninsured residential mortgages each reaching July records, with total bank assets hitting a new July high as well. Canada's labour force and employment counts also registered their largest August readings on record since 1976, according to Statistics Canada. Canadian airline operating revenues set a July record since 1981.
Canada's CPI all-items index added another dimension. It stood at 169.8 in August 2026, the highest August reading since 1914, up from the previous August peak of 164.8 in 2025. Average hourly earnings in the United States, tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, have risen for 65 consecutive months through August 2026.
In Australia, owner-occupied housing loans reached AUD 1.69tn in July 2026, extending a streak that now runs to 88 consecutive months, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. Investor housing loans have risen for 64 consecutive months in the same dataset.
Italy's unemployment rate fell to 5.8% in July 2026, the lowest July reading since Italy's national statistics office, ISTAT, began tracking the series in 1983. The previous July low was 5.9%, set in 2025. Spain's fixed broadband line count reached 19.9 million as of June 2026, according to regulator CNMC data ingested by ORTEX. That reading extended a run of consecutive monthly gains to 95 months, the longest on record for that series. France's airport passenger count for December 2025 was the largest December figure since the Airports Council International series began in 1990, adding a further signal of sustained travel demand across the continent.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
