Macroeconomics

1. [Federal Reserve Rate Cut] The Federal Reserve lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to between 4.00% and 4.25%, in line with market expectations. This marked the first rate cut in nine months, following the December 2024 rate cut.

2. [Canadian Rate Cut] The Bank of Canada announced a 25 basis point rate cut, lowering its policy rate from 2.75% to 2.50%, its first rate cut since March.

3. [Brazil Interest Rate] On September 17th, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Brazil announced that it would maintain the benchmark interest rate at 15%.

4. [Eurozone CPI] The final Eurozone CPI for August increased by 2% year-on-year, compared to the previous reading of 2.1%, and by 0.1% month-on-month, compared to the previous reading of 0.2%.

5. [Japanese Exports] Japan's exports fell by 0.1% year-on-year in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. The trade deficit for the month was 242.5 billion yen.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On September 17, international crude oil futures closed lower. The November contract for U.S. WTI crude oil futures settled at $63.70 per barrel, down $0.46, or 0.7%. The December contract for Brent crude oil futures settled at $67.46 per barrel, down $0.55, or 0.8%.

2. [Crude Oil] On September 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that refinery crude oil processing decreased by 394,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the week ending September 12, and refinery capacity utilization fell by 1.6 percentage points to 93.3%.

3. [Crude Oil] On September 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude oil exports increased by 2.53 million bpd to 5.28 million bpd in the week ending September 12, the highest level since December 2023. U.S. net crude oil imports fell by 3.11 million bpd, the lowest level since records began in 2001.

4. [Crude Oil] On September 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude oil prices fell sharply last week as net imports fell to a record low. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 9.3 million barrels to 415.36 million barrels in the week ending September 12, compared with market expectations for a decrease of 857,000 barrels. U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels to 217.65 million barrels, compared with market expectations for an increase of 100,000 barrels. Distillate fuel inventories, including diesel and heating oil, rose by 4 million barrels to 124.68 million barrels this week, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1 million-barrel increase.

5. [Gasoline] National Bureau of Statistics: China's gasoline production in August was 13.477 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.7%.

6. [Diesel] National Bureau of Statistics: China's diesel production in August was 17.058 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. 7. [Coking Coal] Coking coal prices rose in the Lishi market in Lüliang on September 17th. A coal mine within the region raised prices for some of its coal grades by another 20 RMB/ton, bringing the total increase this week to 30-70 RMB/ton. High-sulfur lean coals A7.5, S2.7, and G60 remain at 970 RMB/ton; high-sulfur lean coals A8.5, S2.6, and G65 are at 950 RMB/ton; medium-sulfur lean coals A10.5, S1.5, and G65 are at 1160 RMB/ton; and medium-sulfur lean coking coals A8.5, S1.3, and G70 are at 1240 RMB/ton. All prices are ex-factory, cash inclusive of tax.

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