Macroeconomics

1. [Federal Reserve] Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that if upcoming data confirms that inflationary pressures are cooling, he would be inclined to support keeping interest rates unchanged at the Fed's next monetary policy meeting.

2. [US Initial Jobless Claims] US initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 last week to 206,000, slightly above the 205,000 expected by economists. In the first eight months of the year, corporate layoffs (tracked by Challenger) totaled 529,900—the lowest level for that period since 2022—while corporate hiring plans reached their highest level since 2023.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On September 3, international crude oil futures saw mixed results. US WTI crude futures closed higher, with the October contract settling at $91.30 per barrel, up $0.29 or 0.3%. Brent crude futures closed lower, with the November contract settling at $95.52 per barrel, down $0.11 or 0.1%.

2. [Crude Oil] The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated on Wednesday that refinery utilization rates in the US Midwest rose to a record high of 103.5% for the week ending August 28.

3. [Crude Oil] On September 2, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that he believes Venezuela's oil production will exceed 1.5 million barrels per day by the first half of next year and expressed confidence in using Venezuelan oil to replenish the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

4. [Crude Oil] On September 2, an inventory report released by the EIA showed that US crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate inventories rose. For the week ending August 28, US crude oil inventories decreased by 4.45 million barrels to 424.46 million barrels. US gasoline inventories fell by 1.173 million barrels to 205.669 million barrels. Distillate fuel inventories, including diesel and heating oil, rose by 796,000 barrels to 104.187 million barrels.

5. [Crude Oil] On September 3, Saudi Arabia set the official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light crude oil bound for the U.S. in October at a premium of $4.60 per barrel over the ASCI benchmark. For shipments to Northwest Europe in October, the OSP for Arab Light crude was set at a discount of $2.15 per barrel against the ICE Brent settlement price.

6. [Crude Oil] Data from Kpler shows that Russia remained India's largest crude oil supplier in August, with daily supplies of approximately 2.1 million barrels.

7. [Petroleum Coke] On September 3, Qirun Petrochemical quoted its petroleum coke at 2,033 RMB/tonne, an increase of 110 RMB/tonne from the previous trading day. Specifications include 5.0% sulfur and 630 ppm vanadium, with a 5% moisture deduction; the delayed coking unit has an annual capacity of 1.6 million tonnes and a daily output of 700 tonnes.

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