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.

Plastics and Rubber

1. [PE] As of August 28, 2026, domestic PE social warehouse inventory stood at 283,700 tonnes, an increase of 2,500 tonnes (0.90%) from the previous period and a decrease of 49.52% year-on-year.

2. [SBR] Yangzi Petrochemical’s 100,000-tonne/year styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) unit, which had been shut down since May 16, 2026, resumed operations on September 2, 2026.

3. [SBR] On September 3, PetroChina East China Sales Company raised the price of emulsion-polymerized SBR by 200 RMB/tonne; ex-warehouse prices in East China for Fushun 1502 and Lanzhou Petrochemical 1500E were set at 15,300 RMB/tonne.

4. [BR] On September 3, PetroChina Northeast Sales Company raised the ex-factory price for Daqing and Jinzhou butadiene rubber (BR) by 200 RMB/tonne to 15,300 RMB/tonne (Northeast ex-warehouse price).

5. [Natural Rubber] On September 3, the natural rubber market in the Qingdao region saw fluctuating trends, with spot traders making slight adjustments to their offers. Mainstream quotes were 17,800–18,000 RMB/tonne for 2024-production Yunbao/Guangkeng/Haibao brands; 18,000–18,200 RMB/tonne for 2025-production Yunbao/Guangkeng/Haibao brands; and 18,650–18,800 RMB/tonne for Vietnamese 3L rubber.

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