Oil prices recorded a strong month in July as expectations of more Saudi supply cuts coincided with hopes that demand may stay resilient. Also, US stock market indices continued to probe the upside. The S&P 500 gained 3.1% in July, its fifth consecutive monthly gain. While the upside in US stocks earlier in the year was largely driven by the AI boom in the seven megacap tech stocks, since May there is evidence that the gains have become more broad-based.