EUR/USD
1.14867
0.103%
Gold
4359.61
0.415%
Oil
96.120
-0.410%
USD/JPY
157.076
0.710%
GBP/USD
1.33713
0.103%
GBP/JPY
210.043
0.819%
Real-time News
September 18th - Nikkei futures extended gains as the yen weakened after the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, a move widely expected. The Bank of Japan stated that underlying inflation is approaching its 2% target and that it will closely monitor Middle East conflicts, the yens exchange rate, and demand for artificial intelligence. Investors are now focused on Governor Kazuo Uedas press conference later on Friday for clues about the pace of future rate hikes.Following the Bank of Japans interest rate hike, gains in benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond futures narrowed, with the latest increase being 0.22 yen.At the close of the morning session, most domestic futures contracts declined, with SC crude oil falling over 8%, coking coal over 6%, coke nearly 5%, bottled chip nearly 4%, and paraxylene, staple fiber, PTA, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) all falling over 3%. On the upside, container shipping to Europe rose nearly 3%, Shanghai silver rose over 2%, Shanghai lead and international copper rose nearly 2%, and apples, Shanghai zinc, Shanghai copper, and Shanghai tin rose over 1%.On September 18th, Goldman Sachs maintained its year-end gold price forecast of $5,400/oz. Goldman Sachs stated that while the latest US interest rate hike may slow golds rise, it will not change its long-term bullish outlook. In its report, Goldman Sachs expects "the impact of tighter monetary policy to primarily manifest as a slowdown in the short-term appreciation path of gold, rather than a decline in the final gold price"; the continued diversification of reserves by central banks remains the main structural driver for its bullish outlook on gold. Goldman Sachs pointed out that if the Federal Reserve adopts a more hawkish policy, gold may experience a more significant correction. If the Fed raises interest rates three more times this year and signals further increases in final interest rates, gold prices could fall to around $4,070/oz; however, with central banks continuing to purchase gold to support the market, gold prices are expected to rebound to around $4,200/oz by the end of 2026.According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Chinas raw coal output in August 2026 was 361.823 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 7.7%; the cumulative output from January to August was 3064.427 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.3%. By province, the cumulative year-on-year changes in raw coal output from January to August were 3.3% for Inner Mongolia, 12.5% for Shanxi, and 3.8% for Shaanxi.
