Macroeconomics

1. [PPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In December 2025, the national producer price index (PPI) decreased by 1.9% year-on-year, a narrower decline of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month; it increased by 0.2% month-on-month, an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month. The producer purchasing price index decreased by 2.1% year-on-year, a narrower decline of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month; it increased by 0.4% month-on-month, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month. For the whole year of 2025, the producer price index decreased by 2.6%, and the producer purchasing price index decreased by 3.0%.

2. [CPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In December 2025, the national consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.8% year-on-year and by 0.2% month-on-month. For the whole year of 2025, the national consumer price index remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

3. [US Interest Rates] US Treasury Secretary Besant explicitly stated his desire to lower interest rates, calling them a key factor driving future economic growth. Federal Reserve Governor Milan said he expects interest rate cuts of approximately 150 basis points in 2026. This move is expected to create approximately one million jobs without triggering inflation.

4. [US Initial Jobless Claims] US initial jobless claims last week totaled 208,000, compared to an estimated 210,000 and a previous figure of 199,000.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On January 8th, international crude oil futures rose. The settlement price of the US WTI crude oil futures February contract was $57.76 per barrel, an increase of $1.77 or 3.2%. The settlement price of the Brent crude oil futures March contract was $61.99 per barrel, an increase of $2.03 or 3.4%.

2. [Crude Oil] The inventory report released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that US crude oil inventories decreased last week, while gasoline and distillate fuel inventories increased. As of the week ending January 2, 2026, total U.S. crude oil inventories, including strategic reserves, amounted to 832.52 million barrels, a decrease of 3.586 million barrels from the previous week; U.S. commercial crude oil inventories totaled 419.056 million barrels, a decrease of 3.831 million barrels from the previous week; total U.S. gasoline inventories were 242.036 million barrels, an increase of 7.702 million barrels from the previous week; and distillate fuel inventories were 129.273 million barrels, an increase of 5.594 million barrels from the previous week.

3. [Crude Oil] On January 7, four OPEC+ countries, including the UAE, pledged further compensatory production cuts in the first half of 2026, as the Saudi and Russian-led organization urged member states to improve compliance in an oversupplied market. By June, the total production cuts will reach 829,000 barrels per day, three times the 267,000 barrels per day cut in December of the previous year.

4. [Crude Oil] The Ghanaian government has reportedly approved extensions to the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano petroleum agreements, covering the Jubilee field and the Twenboa, Enyenra, and Ntomme (collectively TEN) fields. The extensions aim to curb production decline through expanded drilling, ensuring continued production from the country's core offshore assets into the next decade, and paving the way for Ghana to deepen its direct participation in assets operated by Tullow Oil and involving companies such as Kosmos Energy.

5. [LNG] The European natural gas and electricity trading market is about to undergo significant reforms. The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced plans to extend the trading hours for UK and EU natural gas and electricity contracts to 22 hours per day by February 23, aligning these contracts with the trading hours of other global energy products.

6. [LNG] QatarEnergy announced on January 4 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to supply Egypt with up to 24 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the summer of 2026. 7. [Natural Gas] The construction of Cambodia's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant, with a capacity of 900 megawatts and an investment of over US$1.35 billion by the Royal Group, is progressing rapidly. According to the plan, the first phase of the 450-megawatt unit will begin operation by the end of 2026, and the second phase of the 450-megawatt unit will be operational in 2027.

8. [Petroleum Coke] On January 8th, Yiatong Petrochemical's petroleum coke price was 1,890 RMB/ton, an increase of 100 RMB/ton compared to the previous trading day. The sulfur content is 4.8%, and the delayed coking unit has a capacity of 1.2 million tons/year, with a daily output of 850 tons.

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