Breakfast Briefing | 15 May 2026 | US-China Summit Disappoints

Today's Breakfast Briefing covers a day one letdown in Beijing, weak Chinese bank lending, rising freight costs, and what it all means for the Australian economy.Trump-Xi summit underway in Beijing, day one delivers little: Boeing order underwhelms, shares fall 3.6%Chinese bank lending turns negative in April, 10 billion yuan net vs 300 billion yuan expectedUS retail sales up 4.5% year-on-year in April, petrol prices a key driverContainer freight rates up 12% last week, now 14% above year-ago levelsACCC wins sham discount case against Coles, ACTU lifts minimum wage claim to 6%AUD at 72.2 US cents, gold at US$4,678/oz, oil above US$101.50/bbl, UST 10yr at 4.49%Read the full briefing and check current home loan and term deposit rates at https://www.interest.com.au/economy/661/us-beijing-visit-struggles-positives-us-retail-petrol-costs-china-bank-lending-falters#BreakfastBriefing #AustralianEconomy #InterestRates #USChina #TradeWar #Inflation #AustralianDollar #FreightRates #RBA #interestcomau