OFF THE WIRE

July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on Thursday as Microsoft's forecast-beating results eased investor worries about massive AI spending by companies, while 30-year Treasury yields scaled ​a 19-year peak after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, stoking concerns about longer-term inflation.

MUMBAI, July 30 (Reuters) - India has seen a rise in unofficial gold inflows since the government raised import tariffs on the precious metal earlier this ​year, widening margins for grey-market operators and hurting organised players, the ‌World Gold Council said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. inflation slowed in June, but the easing is likely to be temporary as renewed hostilities in the Middle East raise oil prices.The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index ​increased 3.7% in the 12 months through June after advancing by an unrevised 4.1% in ‌May, which was the largest gain since April 2023, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday.

Rio Tinto CEO Simon Trott said on Wednesday the miner was seeing a shift in demand for lithium from electrification, with grid storage demand stronger than expected.“We are seeing shifts really across all of our commodities in terms of underlying demand,” Trott said on a call with investors.The miner earlier posted its highest half-year underlying earnings in four years, as surging copper profits and higher commodity prices more than offset softer iron ore earnings.(By Melanie Burton and Renju Jose; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Senior base metals traders are being lured to new jobs as ​demand for their expertise rises amid supply-chain disruptions and soaring investment in metals-intensive data centres, sources ‌with knowledge of the matter said.