Macroeconomics

1. [Economic Policy] China's central bank's fourth-quarter meeting: Continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy and strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments. The meeting pointed out that various tools will be comprehensively utilized to strengthen monetary policy regulation, and the intensity, pace, and timing of policy implementation will be carefully managed based on domestic and international economic and financial conditions and the operation of financial markets. Sufficient liquidity will be maintained to ensure that the growth of social financing and money supply matches the expected targets for economic growth and overall price levels, promoting low overall social financing costs.

2. [Electricity Consumption] National Energy Administration: In November, total electricity consumption across society was 835.6 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Looking at electricity consumption by sector, the primary industry consumed 11.3 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%; the secondary industry consumed 565.4 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%, of which industrial electricity consumption increased by 4.6%, and electricity consumption in high-tech and equipment manufacturing increased by 6.7%; the tertiary industry consumed 153.2 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%, of which urban and rural residential electricity consumption was 105.7 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%.

3. [US Tariffs] The U.S. Trade Representative's office announced on December 23rd that it will impose tariffs on semiconductor products from China starting in June 2027, with the specific tariff rates to be announced at least one month in advance. The report stated that the U.S. claimed to have conducted a year-long investigation into the Chinese semiconductor industry.

4. [US Initial Jobless Claims] According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20th totaled 214,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week, marking two consecutive weeks of decline and significantly lower than the market expectation of 224,000.

Plastics and Rubber

1. [PE] On December 24th, Maoming Petrochemical's LDPE (South China Branch) 2426H was quoted at 8,850 RMB/ton, a decrease of 150 RMB/ton.

2. [Styrene-Butadiene Rubber] On December 24th, the styrene-butadiene rubber market in Southwest China saw narrow fluctuations. Downstream inquiries were mainly for small orders, and market quotations remained stable with minor adjustments. Qilu 1502 was mainly quoted at 11,550 RMB/ton.

3. [Natural Rubber] On December 24th, the natural rubber market in Qingdao saw an upward trend.  Merchants slightly increased their quotations by 50-100 RMB/ton.  Yunbao 2024 was mainly quoted at 15,000-15,200 RMB/ton. Vietnam 3L was mainly quoted at 15,300-15,450 RMB/ton.

4. [Natural Rubber] On December 24th, the natural rubber raw material market in Thailand remained stable to slightly lower: smoked sheet was quoted at 60.10 Thai baht/kg, stable; latex was quoted at 55.20 Thai baht/kg, a decrease of 0.50 Thai baht/kg; cup lump was quoted at 52.15 Thai baht/kg, stable.

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