Macroeconomics

1. [China-Canada Automotive Cooperation] Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new electric vehicle strategy on February 5th, including restarting purchase subsidies, and stated that Canada will cooperate with China to promote the domestic production and export of electric vehicles.

2. [Imports and Exports] Data released by the Ministry of Commerce shows that in 2025, my country's total service trade imports and exports reached 80,823.1 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, and the service trade deficit decreased by 3,439.5 billion RMB. Travel services grew rapidly, with imports and exports reaching 22,067 billion RMB, an increase of 7.6%.

3. [US Initial Jobless Claims] The number of initial jobless claims in the US last week was 231,000, compared to an estimated 212,000 and a previous value of 209,000. The number of continuing jobless claims in the US for the week ending January 24th was 1.844 million, compared to an estimated 1.85 million.

4. [European Central Bank Interest Rates] On February 5th, the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time at its monetary policy meeting, in line with market expectations. The three key interest rates remain unchanged: the deposit facility rate is 2.00%, the main refinancing rate is 2.15%, and the marginal lending rate is 2.40%.

5. [Bank of England Interest Rates] On Thursday, the Bank of England, as expected, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75%, but also stated that if wage growth slows and helps curb inflation, further interest rate cuts may still be possible in the future.

Plastics and Rubber

1. [Polyethylene] On February 4th, Chengzhi Co., Ltd. announced that its POE and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene project invested by Qingdao Huaqing Investment had completed equipment installation, commissioning, and trial production preparations. The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene plant successfully completed its first trial run, with stable operation and excellent product quality. The first phase of the project includes a 40,000 tons/year ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene production line, with a simultaneous plan for a 2×100,000 tons/year POE plant.

2. [LDPE] Recently, the 300,000 tons/year EVA/LDPE integrated plant in Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Industrial Park successfully started up, with the entire process running smoothly and producing the first batch of qualified 2420K high-pressure LDPE products.

3. [NBR] On February 4th, Arlanxeo, a global manufacturer of high-performance elastomers, announced that its new hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu, has officially started production. The first phase of the project successfully completed trial operation in October 2025, with a capacity of approximately 2,500 tons.

4. [SBR] On February 5th, the styrene-butadiene rubber market in East China showed weak consolidation, with some offers lowered by 50-100 RMB/ton. Currently, the mainstream price for Fushun, Jihua, Qilu, Weitai, Yibang, and Lanhua styrene-butadiene 1502 is 13,050-13,200 RMB/ton.

5. [BR] On February 5th, the BR market in East China showed weak performance, with merchants lowering their offers by around 100-150 RMB/ton. Currently, the mainstream price for Daqing, Yangzi, and Qilu polybutadiene is 12,900-13,150 RMB/ton; some private brands are priced at around 12,600-12,900 RMB/ton. 6. [Natural Rubber] On February 5th, the natural rubber market in the Shanghai area showed weak and consolidating trends. Spot prices were lowered by 100-200 RMB/ton.  The mainstream price for 2024 Yunbao/Guangkeng was 15,900-16,200 RMB/ton; the mainstream price for 2024 Haibao was 16,000-16,250 RMB/ton; and the mainstream price for Vietnamese 3L was 16,450-16,600 RMB/ton.

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