Macroeconomics

1. [Government Investment] my country has for the first time clarified the layout and investment direction of government investment funds. The National Development and Reform Commission and three other departments jointly issued the "Working Methods on Strengthening the Layout Planning and Investment Guidance of Government Investment Funds," requiring funds to support major strategies, key areas, and weak links where the market cannot effectively allocate resources, promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and focus on cultivating emerging pillar industries.  Funds are prohibited from investing in restricted, eliminated, and policy-prohibited industrial sectors.

2. [Automobiles] The Ministry of Commerce reported on the progress of consultations on the EU-China electric vehicle case, stating that the EU will issue a "Guidance Document on Submitting Price Commitment Applications," and confirmed that it will adhere to the principle of non-discrimination, applying the same legal standards to each price commitment application in accordance with relevant WTO rules, and evaluating them in an objective and fair manner. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products issued a statement saying that it will encourage and support the companies involved to fully utilize the results of the consultations and strive to protect their export rights to the EU through price commitment applications.

3. [US Tariffs] On January 12, local time, Trump posted on social media that, effective immediately, any country conducting business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will be subject to a 25% tariff on any business activities with the United States.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On January 12, international crude oil futures rose. The settlement price of the February contract for US WTI crude oil futures was $59.50 per barrel, an increase of $0.38 or 0.6%. The settlement price of the March contract for Brent crude oil futures was $63.87 per barrel, an increase of $0.53 or 0.8%.

2. [Crude Oil] On January 12, US Interior Secretary Bernhardt stated that low oil prices are an "opportunity" to fill the strategic petroleum reserve.

3. [Crude Oil] A preliminary survey released on January 12 showed that US crude oil and distillate fuel inventories were expected to decrease last week, while gasoline inventories were likely to increase. Analysts on average estimated that US crude oil inventories decreased by approximately 2.2 million barrels in the week ending January 9.  Distillate fuel inventories, including diesel and heating oil, were predicted to decrease by approximately 200,000 barrels last week; while gasoline inventories were expected to increase by approximately 4 million barrels. 4. [Crude Oil] On January 12, data from Kpler and Vortexa showed that Iran's offshore oil storage has reached a historical high, equivalent to approximately 50 days of the country's crude oil production. According to data from shipping data provider Kpler, the total amount of crude oil and condensate in transit or stored in floating storage units in Iran reached a historical peak of 166 million barrels in the week ending January 11, the highest record since the agency began collecting relevant data in 2016.

5. [LNG] According to real-time liquefied natural gas (LNG) import data from the China Natural Gas Information Terminal (E-Gas system), an estimated 29 LNG cargoes were imported through coastal LNG receiving terminals in China during the week of January 5-11, totaling approximately 1.88 million tons, compared to 980,000 tons in the previous week.

6. [Petroleum Coke] On January 12, Yiatong Petrochemical's petroleum coke price was 1950 RMB/ton, an increase of 40 RMB/ton compared to the previous trading day, with a sulfur content of 4.8. The delayed coking unit has a capacity of 1.2 million tons/year and a daily output of 850 tons.

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